Moe-Freeland meeting could help mend split between province and feds

The recent meeting between Premier Scott Moe and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland could be a good sign of progress for the relationship between Saskatchewan and the federal government.

Loleen Berdahl, the head of political studies at the University of Saskatchewan, told Gormley on Thursday that she thinks Freeland has a better chance of negotiating with Moe than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does.

“(Moe) does have respect for Freeland. (Moe) has referred to her as being competent, and made reference to looking forward to working with her,” she said.

“They just seem to get along better, and personal relationships do matter in intergovernmental relations.”

Berdahl also pointed to Freeland’s experience as minister of foreign affairs as an asset to working with every province.

“She’s someone who has negotiated with Donald Trump and his team,” Berdahl said. “You have to have some amazing skills to walk that particular line.”

However, it still won’t be an easy job for Trudeau’s Liberals to listen to all parts of the country.

“They have to walk the line, politically, of making sure they deal with the policy concerns of Saskatchewan and Alberta, and at the same time not aggrieving their electoral interests in Quebec,” she explained.

Trudeau’s Liberals were re-elected in the Oct. 21 federal election, but were shut out in both Alberta and Saskatchewan.