The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party will be electing its new leader this Sunday.
Kaitlyn Harvey and Carla Beck are running to be the next Offical Leader of the Opposition.
Beck has been the MLA for Regina Lakeview since 2016 and decided to run for the leader as she sees an opportunity for the NDP Party and the province to change.
“I feel really excited about our prospects for change in this province and for our party,” she said. “I thought that given my history and given my ability to bring teams together and reach out. This was the right time for me to pursue this goal.”
Beck said that the focus of her campaign has been meeting people where they are.
“Signaling that we understand, as the NDP, what we have been doing hasn’t resonated with voters,” she said. “There’s a lot of appetite for change out there, and I think people are waiting for us to demonstrate that we are able to deliver that change, and that’s exactly what we’ve been focused on.”
As for issues Beck has heard when meeting people; affordability has been top of mind.
“It doesn’t matter the community that we are in; the affordability piece is huge,” she stated. “The other thing that we are hearing a lot of is, COVID was hard. The last two years were really hard on people, both financially but also with mental health. It’s visible when you go into communities, large and small, around the province.”
With the majority of NDP seats in urban centres, Beck noted that it’s important that they can get out and meet people in rural communities and understand their issues.
Issues like service delivery, emergency room closers, education cuts, seniors care, and rural connectivity. Something that in the last session, they heard more and more people bringing to the legislature.
“I’ve been elected for six years, and there has not been a session where we’ve had more people from all over the province coming to the legislature to express that what is happening right now is not working for their communities,” she said. “We are increasingly seeing a government that is not returning phone calls, not getting out there and talking to people. It’s the responsibility of any elected leader to make sure that your out in front of the people that you want to serve and listen to them.”
In terms of growing the NDP Party, Beck sees a lot of opportunity for those who are feeling their issues aren’t being heard.
“I’m hearing from people in increasing numbers that they are tired of divisive-polarized politics. They tune it out. They want to hear from people that understand the situation that they are in. Understand their hopes and concerns, and build from the common ground. We can talk about the things that we disagree about in the province, but that can’t be all we talk about.”
“I think the values that drew me to the NDP in the first place. Looking out for your neighbour, giving back, building a strong economy, building for the future, being good stewards of land and air, and water,” she continued. “Those values are still out there regardless of political affiliation in this province.”
Beck said she feels a lot of responsibility and excitement about rebuilding the party as a viable alternative.
“If you share our values, if you share the same concerns and the same hopes that we do, we are inviting them in to be part of that solution. I am running to win the next election, and I know that it is going to be a lot of hard work. I think we need and deserve a better government than what we have right now.”
When Sask. NDP members go and cast their votes; Beck explained why people should vote for her.
“I can build the team that it’s going to take and put in the hard work that we are going to need so that we can be a viable alternative to the Sask. Party in 2024,” she stated. “I’m excited by this, but I am also encouraged by the fact that we’ve already been doing it, and we’ve heard from people who want to be part of it.”
Though she doesn’t have as much spare time as she once did, Beck said that she loves being involved with sports and the outdoors, along with spending time with her three kids and the rest of her family.
“I have a very neglected kayak but love to be out in the water, cross country skiing in the wintertime,” she said. “For a lot of years before politics, I spent a lot of time coaching tee-ball, coaching soccer, helping plan baseball and hockey tournaments, and really carpooling kids around, the same thing that a lot of parents do in the province.”
Beck, whose family has been inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame, says she tried to catch as many games of her nieces and nephews as she could.