Although Premier Brad Wall had yet to officially drop the writ as of Tuesday afternoon, the two local candidates for the province's dominant political parties are ready to hit the campaign trail in the Estevan constituency.
Incumbent Doreen Eagles of the Sask. Party and NDP hopeful Blair Schoenfeld are expected to grab the lion's share of votes in the provincial election which is scheduled for Nov. 7.
Eagles will be seeking her fourth mandate from voters within the constituency after three relatively easy wins. Despite being a veteran of many election battles, Eagles said she still looks forward to elections and meeting the people of her constituency.
"I still love my job," Eagles said in an interview Monday. "It's probably the most insecure job in the world and it could all come to an end Nov. 7, you just never know. But I have always been a firm believer of being out amongst people and all through the mandate I believe I have done that.
"I don't take anything for granted and I will be door knocking in earnest and will try to hit all the small towns in the area as well as Estevan."
Schoenfeld, who is making his first foray into the political arena, has already begun door-knocking in the constituency. He is looking forward to being a candidate in the election and attempting to unseat Eagles.
"I'm doing more than looking at being a candidate. I want to be the next MLA in this constituency and I am very much looking forward to that."
Not surprisingly, given the two parties political ideologies, the Sask. Party and NDP are taking much different approaches to the election.
The Sask. Party appears as though it will run on the fact that Saskatchewan is enjoying an incredible level of prosperity at the moment and they are the ones who can help maintain it. The NDP have taken the approach that although the province is going through prosperous times, that hasn't translated to Saskatchewan families who are not getting their fair share of the pie and are also being forced to deal with a rising cost of living in the province.
That rising cost of living has been felt locally where the price of rent has continued to rise, leading the NDP to pledge it will institute some form of rent control should they regain control of the legislature in November.
Eagles agrees that housing is an issue in the Estevan area, but noted the Sask. Party maintains that rent control is not the answer.
"We have to keep in mind that it was the NDP that did away with rent control," she said. "Now they are lobbying for it, so it is kind of another flip-flop issue for them but they were the ones who took away rent control in the 1990s. But I am aware (of the housing) shortage and it is a challenge."
Schoenfeld said the issue of rent control is of importance to him since he's been a renter and has felt the sting of the rising prices first hand.
"There are a lot of people out there that are spending up to 75 per cent of their income on rent. It is something we have to address and do something about. My heart goes out to them because I have been a renter myself and know how bad it is when your rent goes up 50 or 60 per cent within two years," said Schoenfeld. "Other people who are looking to be first time homeowners, it is pretty difficult for them. There are not a lot of houses out there and it has really been hard for them to get approved for a mortgage these days with the price of housing these days."
One area both candidates did agree on is the twinning of Highways 39 and 6 from North Portal to the U.S. border. Eagles said she will continue to lobby her Sask. Party colleagues for the highway to be twinned. Schoenfeld and the NDP have taken things a step further pledging earlier this year that if they are elected, a twinning project will begin within the first year they are in office.
Both candidates say they plan to be busy in the days leading up to the election. As mentioned, Schoenfeld has already been door-knocking and plans to maintain an active schedule throughout the election.
"I'm hoping to set up some coffee times just so people can meet the candidate but you just can't beat knocking on doors. I know it is the modern age, but people still like seeing their candidates face to face and having that one to one contact."
Although Eagles and her party are both the incumbents, she said they are not taking anything for granted, citing the NDP's success and the Liberal Party's decimation in the recent federal election as an example of how complacency can be costly. She has already lined up her campaign office in Estevan and has her campaign ready to roll.
"We are just waiting for the premier to give us the word."
The Green Party will also be represented in the constituency with Sigfredo Gonzalez running for the Greens. Gonzalez has prior election experience having run for the party in a handful of races.
As of press time the Liberal Party had yet to announce a candidate for the Estevan Constituency.
