SASKATOON— believes in the incredibly diverse neighbourhoods that make up the riding of Saskatoon West, which is the main reason she chose to run as the NDP’s candidate in the federal election on April 28.
Walker said Saskatoon West has people from all backgrounds and experiences, which the current MP, Brad Redekopp of the Conservative Party, has failed to represent in the last six years on Parliament Hill.
“Rather than building our community up, he has publicly criticized people and community organizations working to find solutions to some of the toughest struggles that we face: an opioid epidemic, increased homelessness, and cuts to social programs,” Walker told SASKTODAY.
“He has also failed to advocate for affordable housing for Saskatoon West because of directives from Conservative leadership. This kind of partisan politics is the last thing we need when the stakes are high and people need services.”
Walker, who has extensive experience as an educator and community leader, said that being a part of the neighbourhood in Saskatoon West, she had worked with many community organizations and small businesses.
“I will advocate for needed, local solutions and work across organizations, governments, and party lines to do it. We have to be in this together,” said Walker, whose career expanded from the university to the community.
She said she brings a rare combination of grassroots experience, policy expertise, and collaborative leadership. She is a builder and a bridge-maker, who would be a bold voice for a braver future in Saskatoon West.
Walker, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Law, brings decades of experience in human rights, housing, governance, and innovation. She is the current chair of USask’s Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice program in Political Studies.
Even at a young age, growing up on a farm near the city of Warman, Walker seemed destined to do great things. She built a solar oven from scratch when she was nine and organized a music fundraiser for sexual violence survivors at 14.
She even challenged church teachings on gender and sexuality when she was 16 — an innovative spirit and motivation she still embodies today as Social Innovation Lab director. SIL is a community-led research hub that mobilizes knowledge into action through partnerships with students, non-profits and grassroots organizers.
Walker’s experience goes beyond leadership, including policy analysis, government relations, housing, community services, and collaborations between universities, governments and community organizations, focusing on justice, inclusion and transformative change. From 2020 to 2022, she held the Ariel F. Sallows Chair in Human Rights at the College of Law, working on research, advocacy and policy.
She served as OUTSaskatoon’s executive director from 2013 to 2020, where she founded Pride Home — the first long-term group home for 2SLGBTQ+ youth in the Prairies — and co-founded the Enchanté Network, a national organization that strengthens the capacity of Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ organizations across the country.
Walker is committed to affordable housing, accessible post-secondary education, and universal public services like dental care, pharmacare and child care. Her leadership is grounded in lived experience and collaboration, a lifelong commitment to equity, and being a bridge-builder, systems-thinker and relentless advocate.
