REGINA — Premier Scott Moe took to a podium inside the Legislative Building on Tuesday morning to criticize the re-elected prime minister following the almost unchanged results from yesterday’s election.
Moe was largely silent throughout the recent federal election campaign, but spoke out today to call the snap election “pointless” and “unfortunate” for Canadians to have endured.
Few seats changed hands, including all fourteen ridings in Saskatchewan that saw Conservative incumbents re-elected for a sea of blue covering the province.
“This was the most pointless election in Canada’s history,” said Moe, in his statement Tuesday morning.
The Liberal Party emerged from polls last night with a re-elected minority government, securing almost the exact number of seats as the 2019 election.
He disparaged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to call an election just two years after the previous, stating that the attached $600 million price tag was a waste of taxpayer dollars for “almost the same result.”
“This time and money could have been spent to address real issues facing Canadians,” said Moe.
He said funds would have been better utilized through funding health care systems, propping up vaccine programs in remote communities, and aiding provinces in economic recovery efforts.
Moe also offered disparaging comments about Trudeau’s campaign trail, which he said neglected Saskatchewan voters.
“His only stop on the campaign in this province was to refuel his jet [in Regina]. He made a few comments from the tarmac, and he later in the campaign made a few comments about Saskatchewan in a very divisive way with respect to our vaccination rates,” said Moe.
Moe’s statements echoed those of Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole, throughout his election campaign.
“It's unfortunate that we have a prime minister that has used the last five weeks during this election campaign to further create divisions across this nation,” said Moe.
When asked about previous tangles with the prime minister and federal government, Moe said that his responsibility is to represent the people of Saskatchewan, and that the results of the province’s ballots showed that the majority of people in the province don’t want Trudeau as their prime minister.
“We are going to work with him where we can, but we are most certainly going to stand up for the residents of Saskatchewan,” said Moe.
He said he will continue to work with federal parties, but that he anticipates seeing “more of the same” from the Liberal government.
The premier concluded with a call to the federal government to work more closely with provincial leaders, in spite of previous disagreements — including another call for acceptance of Moe’s proposed alternate carbon tax plan.
“We need to work together and we're hopeful that the federal government will make a different choice and work with the provinces,” said Moe.
