Mark Carney's election win was a voter decision, not a media plot
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While the Conservatives swept most of Saskatchewan in Monday’s federal election, a former NDP MLA secured a seat for the Liberal Party in the Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River riding.
Now, Buckley Belanger said he’s hoping to bring a northern Saskatchewan and Liberal perspective to the rest of the province.
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“We worked right until the bitter end, and hard work always pays off,” Belager said in an exclusive interview with 650 CKOM.
Listen to Belanger’s interview on The Evan Bray Show:
Belanger said it was a positive sign that many Liberals and progressive voters turned out to vote in this recent election, particularly in his northern riding.
“I think Saskatchewan overall will be served very well with differing perspectives on politics, and I think over time that effort changes people’s views politically,” he said.
The boundaries for the Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River riding were redrawn ahead of the election. Belanger said the previous riding encompassed 57 per cent of Saskatchewan’s landmass, including 30 to 40 non-Indigenous communities.
“Northern Saskatchewan was never a Conservative riding, just by the makeup and the design of our riding before,” Belanger said.
Belanger said he believes Mark Carney message and his “ability to weather some economic storms,” resonated with voters, especially when it comes to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“I think he single-handedly turned the fortunes around for the Liberal Party and brought some really good perspective from his background to how Canada can move forward,” Belanger said.
Belanger said Saskatchewan is rich in gold, rare earth minerals and uranium. He stressed the importance of using these resources to build up communities in the northern part of the province.
He said those communities “don’t want to sit by and cheerlead the economy. They want to be a full part of it.”
He added that First Nations, northern Métis, and representatives of the municipal sector have an “incredible” view of northern Saskatchewan and want to be part of the change.
“At the end of the day, northern Saskatchewan certainly showed that they’re serious about being Liberals,” Belanger said.
