Photo courtesy Rob Clarke
The race to succeed Brad Wall as Saskatchewan Party leader has now been whittled down to five candidates with the only First Nation candidate deciding it was better for him and the party if he stepped down and threw his support behind Ken Cheveldayoff.
Rob Clarke, a retired Mountie and former Conservative MP for the northern riding of Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River, made the surprise announcement this morning.
Clarke entered the race on November 15 saying he was the NDP’s “worst nightmare”. Now less than a month later, he says if he stays in the race it could result in a vote split, paving the way for an NDP majority government in the 2020 provincial election. He says the only candidate willing to engage the grassroots and the Aboriginal community is Cheveldayoff.
“When I look at the other candidates, they just don’t engage in the grassroots membership,” Clarke says. “They don’t offer anything, they just want to maintain the status quo. You can’t do that, you can’t become complacent.”
Cheveldayoff is encouraged by Clarke’s support.
“From the outset, our campaign has been focused on the true grassroots, working to reconnect our party with our rural roots and keep us urban strong so that we can win the next election in 2020, and build the next decade of growth for Saskatchewan,” Cheveldayof says.
While Clarke has bowed out of the leadership race, he has not closed the door on provincial politics, saying he would like to represent the north in the legislature after the next provincial election.
The remaining candidates in the campaign include Ken Cheveldayoff, Alanna Koch, Scott Moe, Gordon Wyant and Tina Beaudry-Mellor.
The new leader will also be the next premier. The leadership convention will be held January 27 in Saskatoon.
Meantime, the two NDP leadership candidates — Ryan Meili and Trent Wotherspoon — will square off at 6:30 tonight debating northern and Indigenous issues.
That debate will be hosted by MBC Network Radio, moderated by Abel Charles.
The NDP will select its new leader March 3 in Regina.