Carla Beck officially begins run for NDP leadership

In and among the machinery of a manufacturing plant, Carla Beck made her first pitch to be the new leader of the Saskatchewan NDP.

Beck said she has been hearing from so many people that they want change.

“In order to deliver change, we have to unify our party, we have to invite people in and I believe that I have the skill set to be able to do that,” Beck said Thursday, echoing a theme that ran throughout her event.

Beck said she has spent her whole life bringing people together and building them up, and in the week since she made the decision to run, she has been hearing from people about a willingness to put small divisions aside and to build to a larger goal.

That ultimate goal for Beck would be to build an NDP team that can win in 2024. She said people in the province are ready for change, but they want to be sure the NDP is ready and she said it is.

“(We’re) ready to put them first, ready to earn their trust and ready to win so that we can deliver the change that so many people in this province are looking for,” she said.

Right now, though, Beck’s first priority is to build connections and invite people into the party and she has a message for the people of the province.

“No matter where you live, no matter how long you or your family have called this province home and no matter who you voted for in the last election, if you have had enough of this government and you want better, I want you to know that we hear you and we want to keep hearing from you,” said Beck.

Beck plans to travel across the province and engage with NDP members, people who haven’t seen themselves in the party for a long time, and those who haven’t ever seen themselves reflected in the NDP.

Beck was thrice introduced at her event, each time by prominent members of the party: Trent Wotherspoon, who has run several times for the leadership; Nicole Sarauer, the current deputy leader who has served as interim leader; and Aleana Young, who is a freshman MLA but has had a strong voice in and out of the Assembly.

Young called Beck an inspiration and someone she trusts. Wotherspoon said Beck has what it takes to renew and build the party and called her “rock solid,” which earned some appreciative murmurs from the small crowd. Sarauer said Beck looks beyond divides and brings people together.

A win for Beck would be a first for the NDP; the first woman leader of the party. She said she knows it’s new for the party but also knows she has to go out and demonstrate her strength and show her ability to bring people together.

If Beck won the leadership and the NDP managed a win in 2024, she would also be Saskatchewan’s first woman premier.

So far, no one else has put their name in to succeed Ryan Meili as the party’s leader. The NDP’s leadership convention will be held in June.