Liberal and NDP leaders make campaign stops in Saskatchewan

Carney also mentioned how he made a stop in Saskatoon in mid-Februrary before the federal election kicked off.

As he began speaking about a famous photograph of Winston Churchill in the pub, shouts rang out from the audience.

“Fifty-first state! Don’t listen to him!” shouted at least two individuals.

The disruptions were quickly met with boos from the crowd.

“That’s misguided,” Carney said. “We value diversity in this country, unlike the United States of America.”

As he began his speech again, he told the crowd the U.S. wanted Canada’s water, land and resources.

“They want us to be the 51st state. They want to break us so they can own us,” he continued.

A short time later, several Palestinian protesters once again disrupted the event, but were quickly drowned out by crowd cheers.

“What we do in this country is we’re going to fight, we’re going to protect, and we’re going to build,” explained Carney.

Saying Americans understand money and lawyers — the Liberal leader talked about putting counter tariffs on the U.S., protecting Canadian workers, and building new trade partnerships with Asia, Australia and Europe.

“Think of the steel workers here in Saskatchewan, the auto workers in Ontario, the farmers and fishers, the potash workers… some would take the money from the tariffs and they want to cut taxes…we’re taking every dollar from these tariffs and we’re giving it back to the workers who are most affected by them,” he said.

He also again touched on campaign promises he’s previously announced, including building millions of homes, making Canada an “energy super power” in oil, gas, and clean energy in partnership with Indigenous peoples and the provinces, while also creating more educational opportunities and careers for those who want to work in the trades.

Carney did not mention canola farmers or the tariffs China has imposed on some canola products, pork, or seafood. Nor did he take questions from the media, leaving the event moments after his speech.

NDP supporters feeling optimistic

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Saskatoon-West NDP candidate Rachel Loewen Walker rallied with supporters on Wednesday night in Saskatoon. (Shane Clausing/650 CKOM)

A rambunctious group of supporters greeted NDP leader Jagmeet Singh on Wednesday evening in Saskatoon as he made his first stop in Saskatchewan on the 2025 campaign trail.

Singh propped up the candidates for the Saskatoon area and spoke to his supporters for less than 10 minutes. While the speech was short, Singh did meet and talk individually with supporters for just over an hour after his speech.

Singh called this election very important because people are worried about the uncertainty in the world.

“People are really worried and they’re worried about what it means for their lives. They’re worried about what it means for their families, they’re worried about the cost of living,” Singh told supporters.

“People are worried about what’s going to be on the table. What are people going to sacrifice? Are people going to give up on universal health-care? Are they going to give up on workers rights?

“We got a message. Not only will we never be the 51st state, we will never give up on people.”

Singh added he thinks more and more people are rejecting Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party’s campaign because of what he calls proposed cuts to healthcare and pensions.

Singh also called out Liberal leader Mark Carney and claimed that he too will cut important services if he’s elected into office.

“He’s talking about cutting services for people to give tax cuts to millionaires. That’s not what we need right now,” Singh said.

“We’re seeing more and more that he is really not going to put people first. He’s certainly going to be great for billionaires and for CEOs, but is he going to be there for you and your family when the times are tough?”

Singh reiterated the NDP is the party to vote for if people believe in improving universal healthcare and building a housing market that’s not for billionaires.

Singh did not take any questions from the media, but will be staying in the city overnight.

On Thursday morning, Singh is making an announcement at 9:30 where he is expected to answer questions from media. He will then meet with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) privately at 11 a.m.

Despite support for the NDP appearing to drop in the polls over the last month, Singh’s supporters were still confident about the chances of seeing the party pick up a seat or two in Saskatchewan.

Krista-Dawn Kimsey has been volunteering and helping knock on doors for Saskatoon-West candidate Rachel Loewen Walker.

“I think it probably depends riding by riding. In my riding Rachel is the strongest candidate and she’s been a strong presence for over a year,” she said.

“I think because the way that our system works, we vote locally, so Rachel is the best option. This riding has been conservative for a long time and we flipped it in the provincial level – we can flip it in the federal level.”

Steve Daniels White has also been volunteering for the NDP throughout the election campaign and thinks there’s still lots of support for the party in Saskatoon.

“It’s extremely important for me to show support for what I think is the voice of the people and of the workers. I’ve been canvassing with the NDP eight hours a day for every single week for the past three weeks now and it’s been so validating to be able to show the party that we’re here and the NDP is a part of Saskatchewan,” White said.

“I’m in Saskatoon-University, which is a riding that is mainly progressive, which we’re very lucky to have that. This is one of the few ridings that is genuinely winnable,” White added.

“We’re looking at a lot of support certainly in the more affluent areas and as well in the suburbs – but really I can see there’s a lot of support for our message and for the NDP as a whole.”

-With files from Shane Clausing and Lara Fominoff

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by CJME/CKOM

Liberal and NDP leaders make campaign stops in Saskatchewan

NDP supporters feeling optimistic

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