This article might go a long way in explaining just why the NDP has zero seats in the Province.
Issues Pages:
Regions:
Federal NDP shutout from Saskatchewan
Sat, 2012-07-07 21:12
#1
The Analyst
Federal NDP shutout from Saskatchewan
Mon, 2012-07-09 15:00
#2
Is anybody going to try to do something about this bizzare configuration during the upcoming redistribution?
According to [url=http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=cir/red/over&docume... Canada[/url] the report of the provincial boundaries commission is due by September, with a public hearing held at least 30 days after that. Who's on this?
Mon, 2012-07-09 16:40
#3
Not to be too cynical but the Speaker appoints two of the three commissioners for each province.
Andrew Scheer was largely elected because of the "rurban" configuration of Regina Qu'Appelle. He has a vested interset in his riding maintaining its rural component.
Just who are the two commissioners appointed by the Speaker? Do they have partisan connections? What about the commissioners in the other provinces?
Harper is fully capable of fiddling with the boundaries. We should have a closer look at just whom the Speaker has chosen.
Mon, 2012-07-09 17:01
#4
Following up on my last post, the Redistribution Commissioners appointed by the speaker are:
ON - Mr. Douglas Colbourne and Dr. Leslie A. Pal.
N & L - Herbert Clark, Julie Evleigh
PEI- Amand DesRoches, Eugene Murphy
Nova Scotia- Dr. Louise Carbert and Dr. David Blaikie
New Brunswick - patrick Malcolmson, Thomas Riordan
Que - Michel Doyon, Raymond Hudon
Man- Kelly Saunders, Paul Thomas
Sask - John Courtney, David Marit
Alb- Ed Eggerer, Donna Wilson
BC- Stewart Ladyman and Dr. Peter Meekison
Most of these seem to be estimable people according to their resumes. Still, we have every reason not to trust the Cons. Does anyone have any insight into the partisan leanings, if any, of the commissioners?
Tue, 2012-07-10 17:10
#5
I suppose the flip-side to the "rurban" seats issue is that the NDP has been at a relatively low level of support in Saskatchewan since 2004, due to a variety of issues including a relatively unpopular provincial party and a perceived shift in federal party priorities to urban Canada and Quebec. If the NDP could turn the tide and get back to more like its historic levels of support, pulling even with or ahead of the Tories, all of a sudden a whole bunch of seats would become competitive under the current configuration, as opposed to only a smaller number of pure "urban" or far northern seats.
Still, in terms of communities of interest I think it obviously makes more sense to separate urban and rural areas. I hope that local people will be active in raising these concerns at the public hearings, unlike last time.