The Greens didn’t have to venture far to find their man, choosing Ralph McLean, who ran for the Greens in 2019. McLean, a resident of The Pas, is the editor of the Opasquia Times, The Pas’ community newspaper, as well as a former oil and gas worker and historical researcher.
McLean has never held elected office, but has run in provincial and federal elections in the past, running in the 2015 federal election in the Alberta riding of Edmonton-Mill Woods, then running in both the 2019 federal and provincial elections. In the 2019 federal election, McLean finished fourth of five candidates in Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, receiving 1,144 total votes - just shy of five per cent of all ballots cast.
The Greens had previously announced Nasser Dean Chalifoux will run for the party in Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River.
The People’s Party of Canada also chose their northern candidates recently, picking Dylan Young as their Churchill-Keewatinook Aski entrant late last week. As of August 26, no further information about the candidate, including photographs or a biography, has been released by the party.
Across the provincial border, the PPC also selected their candidate in Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River, picking Dezirae Reddekopp. A respiratory therapist with the Saskatchewan Health Authority with no previous electoral experience, Reddekopp was announced as the party's candidate this week.
Five people have put their names forward for the federal seat in Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, including NDP incumbent Niki Ashton, Conservative candidate Charlotte Larocque, Liberal nominee Shirley Robinson, McLean and Young. Only Larocque is listed as a full candidate on the Elections Canada website, but all others are confirmed to be running by their respective parties.
In Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River, six candidates are on the ballot - Conservative incumbent Gary Vidal, Liberal challenger Buckley Belanger, NDP candidate Harmonie King, Green Party nominee Nasser Dean Chalifoux, Reddekopp and independent candidate Stephen King. Only three candidates have been fully filed on the Elections Canada website - Belanger, King and King - but others have been confirmed by their respective parties.
Less than a week remains for candidates to be named for the upcoming election - the final filing deadline is August 30.
