Vermette Wins NDP Nomination In Cumberland

 

Vermette Wins NDP Nomination In Cumberland

Monday, May 12, 2008 at 15:28

 

 

An Air Ronge man will carry the NDP banner in a soon-to-be-called provincial by-election in northern Saskatchewan.

 

According to party officials, Doyle Vermette won quite handily in last week’s nomination meetings — a process that drew 420 delegates.

 

Vermette will face off against the Saskatchewan Party’s Dale McAuley for the vacant seat in Cumberland.

 

It was an eventful week for Vermette, who was injured in a car accident last Monday near Cumberland House.

 

Vermette says his rivals, Earl Cook and Steve Lane, followed through on their promise to give him a fair shake at the nomination meetings he was forced to miss.

 

While the Saskatchewan Party is urging constituents to elect someone from the government side, Vermette thinks the NDP still has a good chance of winning.

 

He also feels an Opposition MLA has more time to visit the riding and stay connected with constituents.

 

NDP leader Lorne Calvert says if McAuley wins, he will be buried in the Saskatchewan Party government’s backbenches.

 

Calvert also says even though the riding has been an NDP stronghold for decades, his party can’t afford to get complacent.

 

The riding is former NDP MLA Joan Beatty’s old seat.

 

The government has yet to set a date for a by-election.