Alan Wiese is running for a North Battleford council on Jan. 21. (submitted/ Alan Wiese)

By Alyssa Rudolph

2026 byelection

‘We need to help bring industry to our town and our community’: NB byelection candidate

Jan 6, 2026 | 2:32 PM

Alan Wiese is running for a North Battleford council seat once again, after a 2024 defeat that came down to just two votes.

“I was disappointed… then when all the stuff came out and I saw that he (former councillor) was going to probably be out, I thought, what a great opportunity to run again and try my luck,” said Wiese.

Last year, the candidate’s top priority was focusing on the city’s homelessness issue. However, after having many conversations and watching recent acts of the city, his focus has altered.

“We need to help bring industry to our town and our community before we can start dealing with these social issues because without that income and taxes and more people coming to our city, it’s hard to tackle those issues,” he explained.

Wiese believes boosting industry in the city would give younger generations an incentive to grow and invest in their hometown.

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Moving forward, the candidate hopes to provide a voice in topics currently affecting North Battleford including the casino dispute, a new arena, and relationships with nearby First Nations. He also mentioned upgrades he would like to see in the community.

“Sakewew definitely needs to be updated they need a new school and I thought, what a great opportunity for those kids to get a new school and then we could turn the old school into a shelter… I hate saying this, but a shelter outside of town is going to make downtown a lot more presentable,” he said.

Along with being an independent contractor, Wiese spends his time volunteering as a soccer coach. He said the city should be incorporating a bigger field for the soccer community.

“Right now, our soccer community can’t even host tournaments. If we could bring that here, that’s huge money we could bring into the community.”

“I think if we could also use the old center… that’d be a great opportunity to turn that into an indoor center. Put some turf in it, reutilize something instead of tearing it down,” he said.

The candidate added that being the same age as most of the city’s population helps him to connect and have a similar mindset to the public.

“I think we need to start looking a little bit more about what it’s going to look like for our city for my kids who are 10 and their children that are going to come up. If we don’t look that far ahead, we’re not going to go anywhere,” said Wiese.

Other confirmed candidates for the upcoming byelection include Gail Feser, Mercy George, Daniel Suberlak, and Donald Meriam.

Residents unable to vote in person can apply for a mail-in ballot until Jan. 20. For those voting in person, advance polls will be held Jan. 14 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Jan. 17 from noon to 6 p.m. Voting day polls on Jan. 21 will run from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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alyssa.rudolph@pattisonmedia.com