Christine Fréchette, a former economy minister, and Bernard Drainville, an ex-environment minister, threw their names in the hat after outgoing Premier François Legault announced in January he was stepping down.

About 20,500 CAQ members were eligible to cast a vote and choose the new leader.

Fréchette focused her campaign on economic issues, while also saying she was open to allowing more permanent residents in Quebec.

Drainville leaned on conservative ideas while positioning himself as the candidate best suited to defend Quebec's identity and to adopt a stricter immigration policy.

The winner will have their work cut out for them as the latest public opinion polls show the governing party trailing far behind the Parti Québécois and Quebec Liberals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2026.

The Canadian Press

Before fleeing the Gaza Strip with his family to escape the Israel-Hamas war, he visited Canada for about seven weeks in the summer of 2023 to donate a kidney to his sister, a Canadian citizen.

C-12 states that refugee claims made on or after June 3, 2025 won't be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board if they were made more than a year after the applicant's first entry to Canada. That one-year rule is retroactive to first entry dates on or after June 24, 2020.

"I was here in Canada to save a life, to save a Canadian life. I did a humanitarian act. I didn't want to stay in Canada in 2023 because there was no reason to stay in Canada," Al Hindi told The Canadian Press from London, Ont.

"I had a job in my country, I had my family, I had a car, I had a home. I had everything there."

Al Hindi said he first came to Canada on Aug. 9, 2023 to prepare for the kidney donation surgery. He said the surgery took place about a month later and he left Canada for Egypt on Sept. 23 before returning to his home in Gaza on Oct. 2, 2023.

Hamas attacked Israel five days later, triggering the war that forced Al Hindi and his family to flee for their lives.

Al Hindi said he and his family were able to get to Egypt in spring 2024 after paying a company US$17,500 to get them out of the war zone.

Al Hindi, his wife and three children were able to come to Canada through a special program offering temporary work and study visas for family members of Canadian citizens. He said he returned to Canada in February 2025 and the rest of his family arrived that May.

He filed a refugee claim on Sept. 4, 2025, according to a procedural fairness letter he received on April 2, 2026 from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

The letter notes he first entered Canada on Aug. 9, 2023. It asks him to provide additional information about his circumstances by April 23 — and warns that he may be deemed ineligible for referral to the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board, the main decision-making body for refugee claims.

The five-paragraph letter says only evidence about the circumstances of his entry to Canada and how it relates to certain parts of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act would be considered.

Al Hindi is not alone in this situation.

An Iranian woman living in Toronto, who The Canadian Press has agreed not to name because of the risks to her family members still in Iran, said she first came to Canada in December 2022 to help support her son, who was studying here.

Speaking through a Farsi interpreter, she said she began to work on a political podcast under a pseudonym for a media organization she said was criminalized by the Iranian regime.

She said that the media organization's website was hacked in July 2025, one month after the refugee rules in C-12 retroactively took effect, and her real name was leaked. She said her husband, who is still in Iran, has been interrogated about when she will return.

She filed a refugee claim on Oct. 1, 2025 because she knew she wouldn't be able to go home.

Canada has a list of countries going through humanitarian crises to which it will not send failed refugee applicants. Iran, recently targeted for airstrikes by the United States and Israel, is on that list — which means that if the woman's refugee application is deemed ineligible, she will be trapped in legal limbo.

She said her legal plight is particularly alarming because it's happening as her husband remains trapped in Iran, and after her recent lymphoma diagnosis.

She said she is doing her best to remain resilient and not lose hope.

The immigration department estimates about 30,000 refugee claimants will be receiving one of these procedural fairness letters. That's a preliminary figure and is subject to change.

In a written statement, an IRCC spokesperson stressed that these letters are not deportation orders and are meant to outline next steps in determining if a refugee claimant is still eligible.

If a claim is deemed ineligible, a claimant can still get a pre-removal risk assessment. This process is meant to assess whether a claimant would face torture, a threat of persecution, a threat to their life or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if they were deported.

Jouman El-Asmar, an Edmonton-based immigration lawyer, said the pre-removal risk assessment process has a far lower approval rate than a traditional Immigration and Refugee Board hearing.

El-Asmar said a claimant going before the Immigration and Refugee Board can bring a lawyer and witnesses, and can present evidence.

The pre-removal risk assessment, on the other hand, is primarily a paper-based process that can lead to an in-person interview if an immigration officer requests one.

"So you have to provide all the evidence. And the lawyers have to basically write out all their submissions and lay out why this person's case meets the requirements of Section 96 and Section 97 of (the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act) and the Refugee Convention, which ends up being like 40 to 50 pages of legal argumentation," she said.

"You're not just presenting the client's case. You also have to talk about all of the country conditions. You cannot assume that they know the country conditions, unlike in the Immigration Refugee Board, where you're going before a tribunal member. Usually that person is assigned to a specific country."

El-Asmar said that in a pre-removal risk assessment interview, an immigration lawyer is not allowed to intervene on behalf of their client. That's not the case in Immigrant and Refugee Board hearings.

El-Asmar said several of her clients have also received procedural fairness letters. She said they include three people from Mauritania in northwest Africa — one is fleeing family violence and a forced marriage, while the other two are political activists.

El-Asmar said that all three clients have arrest warrants against them and judgments issued in absentia. If they should be sent back, she said, they'd be going to their deaths.

"They would be caught by the military, which is the government basically, and they would be found as soon as they enter the country," she said. "Especially if you're talking about removal, which before Canada officially removes or deport someone to a country, they communicate with that country."

For now, all people in Al-Hindi's situation can do is submit any evidence they have to support their claims and wait to hear back from IRCC.

Al-Hindi said that, in the meantime, he and his wife — whose refugee claim is not affected by C-12 — will continue going to work and send their kids to school.

If Al Hindi's claim is deemed ineligible, he'll also fall into legal limbo; Ottawa is not currently removing people to the Gaza Strip. This means he would not even be eligible for a pre-removal risk assessment until conditions in Gaza change.

"I'm not sure where I can go. There is no status," he said.

"I have one kidney. There is no hospital, there is no clean water there. There is no anything in Gaza."

Immigration Minister Lena Diab told a Senate committee in February that these new refugee rules are due to an increase in people staying "a number of years" in Canada before making a claim.

"What we are trying to do, frankly, with these changes is to deter misuse and to prevent people from using the system so that people who really need its protection can get it and get it faster. That is not happening," Diab told the committee on Feb. 12.

Her department's backlog of refugee claims topped 300,000 as of the end of 2025. The Immigration and Refugee Board has the capacity to make 80,000 to 90,000 decisions annually — resulting in a three-year wait time for decisions, according to immigration officials who testified at the committee hearing.

El-Asmar, who closely followed the bill's process through Parliament, believes the legislation clearly was designed to send the message that Canada is no longer a welcoming place for refugees.

"The point of Bill C-12 was really to reduce newcomers to Canada, to reduce asylum claimants, to reduce the number of refugees, to basically create this image and this environment and get the word out among asylum seekers that Canada is no longer the safe place you think it is, so stop coming here in droves," she said.

"That was the goal of that, and they've achieved it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press

A 15-save shutout by Raiders goaltender Michal Orsulak highlighted a 3-0 victory for Prince Albert, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven second round series.

While it was a tighter affair for Saskatoon compared to the Friday’s 6-1 loss in Game 1, the Blades’ offence failed to find the back of the net Saturday.

Read more:

• Prince Albert Raiders dominate series opener with 6-1 victory over Saskatoon Blades
• ‘You really do hate them’: Blades, Raiders to clash in second-round playoff series
• Saskatchewan Roughriders: Corey Mace previews 2026 training camp and talks Grey Cup tour

Shut out in three of their last four meetings against Prince Albert, Saskatoon now has gone 272:18 without scoring an even-strength goal against the Raiders dating back to Feb. 14 when captain Tyler Parr netted a second period goal in a 5-4 shootout loss.

The Raiders dominated the shot clock for a second game in a row, outshooting Saskatoon 11-3 in the first period which saw Blades goaltender Evan Gardner bounce back with 11 saves after being pulled in Friday’s Game 1 loss.

The series got its first fight midway through the second period, as Saskatoon forward Ben Bowtell and Prince Albert defenceman Brock Cripps dropped the gloves for an energetic tilt.

On the Raiders’ 26th shot on goal, Prince Albert finally broke the deadlock with Owen Corkish picking up the rebound off a shot by star defenceman Daxon Rudolph off the rush with 6:20 remaining in the middle frame.

Prince Albert extended their lead to 2-0 with just over two minutes left in the second period off a turnover by Saskatoon defenceman Jack Kachkowski at the attacking blue line, finished off by Jonah Sivertson on a two-on-one chance the other way for his first goal of the playoffs.

The Raiders needed just one minute and one second to find the back of the net to kick off the third period, as Sivertson found Matyas Man at the point who unloaded a one-timer past Gardner for the 3-0 goal.

Through seven playoff games so far, the Raiders have a 6-1 record with their only loss coming in Game 4 in their opening round series against the Red Deer Rebels.

As for the Blades, their playoff record dropped to 4-5 with the Game 2 loss.

The series now shifts down Highway 11 to SaskTel Centre, with the Blades set to host a pivotal Game 3 on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Read more:

• Prince Albert Raiders dominate series opener with 6-1 victory over Saskatoon Blades
• ‘You really do hate them’: Blades, Raiders to clash in second-round playoff series
• Saskatchewan Roughriders: Corey Mace previews 2026 training camp and talks Grey Cup tour

A statement from Eleanor Olszewski says the Canadian Army Reserve members will also assist with logistical support in the community on King William Island, which the local energy provider says has been suffering from power outages for several days.

Olszewski's statement says the situation has threatened the community's water system, triggering a local state of emergency.

She says the Government Operations Centre within Public Safety Canada is working with the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces to ensure the residents of Gjoa Haven have the support and resources they need.

Qulliq Energy Corporation posted to social media on Wednesday that workers were having trouble restoring power in Gjoa Haven due to high winds, and while service was later restored, the utility posted the problems continued and that a crew couldn't land in the community due to poor weather until Saturday.

The latest post from Qulliq on Saturday afternoon says power has now been restored to all customers.

The temperature in Gjoa Haven on Saturday was around -25 C.

"We remain in close contact with the Government of Nunavut and will continue working closely with the territory to respond to the community's needs," Olszewski said in her statement.

The Canadian Rangers are a sub-component of the Canadian Army Reserve, according to the federal government's website, who live and work in remote, isolated and coastal regions of Canada. They provide light-equipped and self-sufficient forces to support CAF national security and public safety operations within Canada.

Officials from the hamlet and the Government of Nunavut could not be immediately reached for comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2026.

The Canadian Press

Milobar's campaign said in a statement released Saturday on social media that Mark Werner is "stepping back" from his role to "focus on his family business."

The announcement comes after Milobar issued a statement on Thursday that said "preliminary discussions" with Werner "confirmed that he had no knowledge" of the website and the mail-out that targeted former Conservative leader John Rustad, and Richmond MLA Teresa Wat.

Milobar distanced himself from the website and the mail-out in his Thursday statement.

"Let me be clear," he said. "I would never stand for those political tactics, most specifically, the horrendous allegations against Teressa Wat," Milobar said.

Milobar issued that statement after Elections B.C. fined B.C. United $4,500 for "transmitting a false statement to affect election results" related to the website.

Set up in August 2024, the website was falsely purported at the time to have been created by disgruntled Conservatives. However, Elections B.C. said the website was orchestrated by B.C. United campaign officials, who hired an Alberta political operative's firm called Sovereign North Strategies Inc.

Elections B.C. said evidence confirms the website and mail-out were organized by B.C. United's campaign manager, and while Elections B.C. did not the name the campaign manager, Werner was in the role at the time.

Werner, who has managed Milobar since 2016, told The Canadian Press on Thursday that he had no knowledge of the anti-Rustad website or the mailer smearing Wat.

Milobar said in his Thursday statement it was his understanding that B.C. United suspended its campaign on Aug. 28, 2024, and that "Mr. Werner was terminated on that day."

The former mayor of Kamloops, who is considered a leading contender to replace Rustad, also said on Thursday that he is in the process of looking into what happened after Aug. 28.

That was the date when Rustad and then-B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon announced their deal, which saw B.C. United fold its campaign amid sagging polling numbers for the party, which had emerged out of the former B.C. Liberals.

Falcon and Rustad were once part of the former B.C. Liberals, but Falcon kicked Rustad out of caucus in 2022.

That set the stage for Rustad to become leader of the Conservatives, eventually leading the party to 44 seats in the 2024 general election. Milobar, also once part of B.C. United, eventually joined the Conservatives as a candidate that year to handily win his Kamloops riding.

Rustad, who was forced out of his office in late 2025, has since accused Falcon of "intentionally" undermining efforts to defeat the NDP with the website.

"It's incredibly Machiavellian. It's plain and simple," Rustad said.

Rustad posted on X Thursday that he believed the "dirty trick" of the website, firejohnrustad.ca, suppressed voter turnout and may have cost the Conservatives victory.

Werner said earlier this week that while the election regulator claimed it tried speaking with him, he said never heard from them despite his contact information being easily found online.

He said at the time that he ceased being part of B.C. United the day it folded its campaign in August 2024.

Milobar said in his Saturday statement that Jeff Conaster will take over the campaign.

The changes comes as the race to replace Rustad enters the final stretch. Candidates have until April 18 to sign up new members, who are then eligible to vote next month.

Milobar is considered to be among the leading candidates in the race. The other remaining candidates are contractor Warren Hamm, former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister Iain Black, former federal MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay, and commentator Caroline Elliott, who is the sister-in-law of Falcon.

UBC political science lecturer Stewart Prest said on social media that this late change in Milobar's campaign team favours Elliott.

"Milobar is the 'champion' of the moderate wing of the BC Conservatives, but they won't be able to hold the line here any more than they could in BC United."

Prest later added in an interview that Milobar's close association with Werner will raise questions among Conservatives.

"I think you can say that Milobar either looks hopelessly naive or duplicitous, given just how significant a role senior members of his campaign were playing in that effort to oust John Rustad," Prest said.

"As much as the party has moved on from Rustad more broadly, the underhandedness of it, I don't think will rub anyone in the party the right away."

Prest said this recent development clears the way for Elliott to win on the first ballot because he cannot see any other candidate, who is deemed moderate, to challenge Elliott, who "has been out in front in some ways, since early days" of the campaign.

The Canadian Press reached out to Milobar, but he did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— with files from Darryl Greer in Vancouver

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press

Hansen expressed gratitude for his family, NASA, and the Canadian Space Agency. He said in French: ''I'm excited to come back to Canada with Reid, Christina, and Victor.''

Still marvelling over their record-breaking lunar fly-around, the crew of four flew to Houston's Ellington Field from San Diego on Saturday afternoon.

After a quick reunion with their families, the astronauts took the stage, surrounded by hundreds who took part in NASA's historic lunar comeback.

‘’What you saw was a group of people who love contributing,’’ said Hansen, speaking on the level of commitment of the Artemis II crew.

Canadian Space Agency president Lisa Campbell hugged all four astronauts before she expressed how proud she was of Hansen and his crew members.

''You've represented the very best of what it represents to be Canadian,'' she said about Hansen.

NASA's Johnson Space Center director, Vanessa Wyche, said that beyond the data, the mission highlighted the connection between humans.

As the four astronauts stood side by side, linked arm in arm, Hansen said, ''When you look up here, we are a mirror reflecting you, this is you.’’

‘’It’s a special thing to be a human, and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth,’’ said Commander Reid Wiseman.

‘’The start and the end were human moments on Earth,’’ said American astronaut Christina Koch. She spoke briefly about understanding new levels of the word ''crew," concluding by saying ‘’Planet Earth, you are a crew.’’

The crew accomplished many milestones on their 10-day mission, surpassing the Apollo 13 record for farthest crewed space flight from Earth and observing the lunar surface like never before.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2026.

--with files from the Associated Press

The Canadian Press

As NASA accelerated its lunar plans in the last few months, Western University geologist Dr. Gordon Osinski said Canada’s contribution will depend on acting quickly.

Read more:

• Textbook touchdown for Artemis II astronauts as they return from moon voyage
• PHOTOS: Artemis II sails through trip around the moon
• WATCH: Canadian Space Agency’s first space to Earth video call with Jeremy Hansen
• Artemis II mission highlights deep space effects on astronauts’ bodies

“If we want to be a part of Artemis, we need to make contributions and be useful,” he said.

That urgency comes after Canada’s successful participation in the program so far.

“This gives incredible momentum,” said Caroline-Emmanuelle Morisset, senior scientist in lunar and planetary science at the Canadian Space Agency.

She said the public response in Canada to the mission was striking, calling it “really exciting,” and noting, “We felt that it carried everyone for 10 days.”

But Osinski said the key challenge now is turning that excitement into sustained involvement in NASA’s Artemis program.

“I really hope we capitalize off the excitement and public interest,” he said. “We’ve got to act quickly, not in 10 to 15 years, which is often the case with space projects.”

Looking ahead, Canada is developing a lunar rover, currently in early concept studies and being designed in coordination with NASA’s Artemis architecture.

The rover would support both logistics and scientific work on the moon, with a potential launch timeline in 2034, said Morisset.

“We are in a full concept study for a utility rover that would go to the lunar surface,” she said. “We are also working with NASA to integrate it into the Artemis architecture. We are really planning this contribution to the lunar program.”

But Osinski said timelines will be critical if Canada wants to maintain its place in the program. “It’s got to be quicker, otherwise we’ll miss the boat,” he said, adding more need to be done.

”I don’t think that’s going to get us an astronaut seat to the surface of the moon.”

Osinski is already deeply involved in Artemis planning and is expected to play a key role in upcoming surface missions, including Artemis IV — the first crewed landing on the lunar surface in the current program architecture.

His role on the science team will include helping plan astronaut routes and lunar observations for the mission.

“I’m on the science team for what was, until recently, Artemis III, but it’s basically the first surface mission (in the Artemis program),” Osinski said. “It’s a big role.”

Morisset echoed that his involvement is significant for Canada.

“It’s quite exciting,” she said, noting he is the only Canadian on the science team.

Osinski said his work on the mission has been underway for years.

“We’ve actually been working already for over two years now,” he said. “I’ve been playing a role in helping to select and characterize potential landing sites on the moon.”

That includes early sample strategy work and planning how lunar material will be processed and studied once returned to Earth and released to the international scientific community.

Beyond mission design, Osinski is also involved in training Artemis astronauts in geology, including classroom work and field exercises at analog sites such as northern Labrador and in Arizona.

“We’re still building the training program,” he said. “I’ll be helping co-ordinate that work.”

He previously helped train Artemis II astronauts using impact sites in northern Labrador, including the Kamestatin Lake crater, a rare anorthosite-rich structure that closely resembles lunar terrain.

“It’s a really unique site, an impact crater, which is the dominant landform on the moon,” Osinski said.

He said the training helped Artemis II astronauts sharpen how they described what they were seeing during their lunar flyby.

“Seeing all the astronauts give really excellent observations to mission control felt really good. I was proud,” he said.

Morisset mirrored that excitement.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “From a scientific point of view, they could describe it live. I was blown away.”

— with files from William Eltherington

Read more:

• Textbook touchdown for Artemis II astronauts as they return from moon voyage
• PHOTOS: Artemis II sails through trip around the moon
• WATCH: Canadian Space Agency’s first space to Earth video call with Jeremy Hansen
• Artemis II mission highlights deep space effects on astronauts’ bodies

Party grassroots passed a non-binding resolution Saturday morning for the restriction and to place the onus on social media companies to enforce it.

Read more:

• Sask. government will poll public on social media ban for minors, Scott Moe says
• Jury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in landmark social media addiction trial
• Sask. K-12 cell phone ban aims to help students ‘reach their potential’

Quebec MP Rachel Bendayan, who presented the idea to her caucus and championed it at the convention, said prolonged social media use can be harmful to the mental health of young Canadians.

She said social media companies need to be more accountable and stop allowing young children to use technologies designed to be addictive.

Bendayan also said she was astonished by how many youth she personally spoke with who support the idea.

“I was very surprised to see so many teenagers and people within the age group I was targeting tell me they were in favour of this resolution, in part because they felt they have no choice but to be on social media,” she told reporters after the vote.

“So it’s not a ban for a ban’s sake. It’s something that would change the way society operates at the moment.”

The resolution sets out party policy, but because it’s not binding on the governing party, it won’t directly lead to a ban.

Carter Scott, a 17-year-old Liberal attending his first convention, said he’s frustrated that young people didn’t get a chance to chime into the debate on the convention floor this weekend.

And he says he doesn’t trust the social media platforms to handle the data used to verify a person’s age, such as government IDs or facial recognition.

“There has been a significant risk and significant concerns where this policy has been introduced is if there’s been a breach — as is likely — of the data, where thousands of Canadians — young people, seniors, whoever — could have their data leaked,” Scott said.

Bendayan said this is just the start of a wider conversation about the policy position, including ensuring it does not produce privacy risks. She said Canadians should hear more from young people, teachers, psychologists and medical experts about the issue.

“We’re in the early stages of having this debate and what today did was kick off what I hope will be a national conversation.”

An Angus Reid poll from March suggested widespread support for the idea.

The polling agency found as much as three-quarters of Canadians support a full ban on social media use for Canadians under the age of 16. Because it was an online survey and not a probability telephone sample, it does not carry a margin of error.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month that the idea “merits an open and considered debate in Canada,” although he does not have a settled view on it yet and said there were good points on both sides.

Australia became the first country last December to create a law enforcing age limits on accounts, and introduced fines for social media companies found non-compliant.

The Liberals also adopted a similar resolution on Saturday to set age restrictions for chat bots that run on artificial intelligence over similar concerns about the technology affecting the mental health of youth.

It says the government should limit use of “all AI chatbots and other potentially harmful forms of AI interaction” to Canadians over the age of 16.

That includes popular software such as ChatGPT that people now commonly turn to for advice or even have full conversations with.

Read more:

• Sask. government will poll public on social media ban for minors, Scott Moe says
• Jury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in landmark social media addiction trial
• Sask. K-12 cell phone ban aims to help students ‘reach their potential’

An Alberta Clipper slammed parts of central and southern Saskatchewan overnight on April 7, and continued on April 8, bringing around 16 cm of snow to Saskatoon and 18 cm Prince Albert. Meadow Lake was one of the hardest hit areas, with about 35 cm of snow reported.

Read more:

• Former Sask. Mountie convicted of voyeurism, having child sex abuse material
• Kindersley vehicle rollover leaves one man dead
• ‘Critical role’: Lack of municipal CAO contributed to Sandy Bay financial woes

But this weekend, Shannon Moodie, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said it’s going to be fairly warm and sunny, comparatively speaking.

“We have a low pressure system that’s going to be developing throughout the day. And ahead of that low pressure system, there’s a nice, wonderful southerly flow that’s just bringing all this warm air into Saskatchewan.

“It’s been a bit of a slow spring, so I think it’s really a bright spot… and it’s happening on a weekend. It’s just fabulous.”

The low pressure system is expected to bring some rain and even a few lightening strikes overnight, and then cooler temperatures to start off next week.

By Wednesday or Thursday though, central and southern Saskatchewan could once again see more snow.

“There is a potential mid-week… that there could be a system moving through that may bring some cooler temperatures and possibly a few flurries.

“But we are still in April … so it’s not unexpected at this time, but I can say eventually, yes, we will get into warmer spring,” she explained.

Moodie said normal temperatures for southern Saskatchewan for this time of year hover around 11 C during the day, and around -3 C at night.

For those who are itching for the heat, Moodie said there isn’t once specific cause for the late start to springtime.

“Fall and spring do tend to be quite variable. And I think people are a little bit more passionate in the spring about wanting it to warm up, because they’ve just come out of this long winter,” she added.

For now, Moodie said a bit more patience is required, and if there are any warnings or significant snowfalls still expected next week, they’ll send out bulletins.

For now though, she said it’s too early to tell just how much snow may be expected, or where exactly it could hit.

Read more:

• Former Sask. Mountie convicted of voyeurism, having child sex abuse material
• Kindersley vehicle rollover leaves one man dead
• ‘Critical role’: Lack of municipal CAO contributed to Sandy Bay financial woes

Goudy spoke on The Evan Bray Show on Wednesday, in a rare conversation with media.

Read more:

• Prairie Harm Reduction to close after executive director firing, loss of provincial contracts
• Former Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor Vaughn Solomon Schofield dead at 82
• ‘A top-notch patient experience’: Second mobile mammography unit to hit the road in Sask.

Listen to Speaker Todd Goudy on The Evan Bray Show:

At the end of March, Goudy stood and spoke for nearly seven minutes, asking a rowdy assembly to calm down.

“It is not up to us to set your conscience; I can’t raise the bar for someone else, but I certainly can raise it for myself. I can’t legislate morality in this chamber, but we can certainly do it for ourselves,” he said.

However, when speaking to Bray, Goudy downplayed any perceived disorder.

“I am not exasperated or thinking that Saskatchewan’s legislature or MLAs are out of control or that things are getting extremely bad in the Chamber, not at all. I actually feel very privileged to serve with the other 60 members,” explained Goudy.

“I’ve been in Ottawa as well, and we’ve all seen the question period there; it’s nothing like Saskatchewan, so I really hope that the public doesn’t feel like the MLAs and that the Chamber is out of control in Saskatchewan.”

He said he likes being in the middle, like a peacemaker, but doesn’t like when students come into the legislative building and see MLAs acting like what they’ve come to see, as normal, but the students would see as abnormal.

Goudy said, since the issue of decorum has been getting more publicity, he’s been getting more texts and emails about it and thinks people in the province are glad to hear he’s moving things more in that direction.

“I think, in general, the public is tired of politicians fighting with one another,” said Goudy.

He has regular meetings with the house leaders for both the government and the opposition, and Goudy said they get along. He said he spoke with other Speakers, and they said they don’t have meetings with their house leaders because they don’t get along.

Goudy allowed that things might get more frustrating in the assembly for the Opposition NDP, saying there are more rules around the kind of questions that can be asked, rather than what answers can be given.

“It’s their job to question the government concerning policies and laws that they’re bringing forwards, but it’s my role to keep it as balanced as I can,” he said.

Nicole Sarauer, Opposition House Leader, said it can be frustrating when the NDP members are asking questions and not getting straight answers, which can kick off some heckling. But she said the main difference these days is that there are quite a few more NDP MLAs in the house.

“When I was first elected, there were 11 Sask NDP MLAs and 50 Sask Party MLAs, not a lot of talk and concern from the government at that time about decorum or heckling, in fact, probably I would say the opposite is the case,” said Sarauer.

She said the NDP hasn’t been backing down from their role to hold the government accountable.

The last Speaker, Randy Weekes, ended his tenure by talking about feeling harassed by disapproving text messages and conversations with both sides, but particularly calling out a few government members.

Goudy said there’s been nothing like that in the time he’s been Speaker.

Earlier in the week, Government House Leader Tim McLeod said a change had been made to say that individual members shouldn’t contact the Speaker about legislative assembly business. ]]> https://www.ckom.com/2026/04/11/sask-speaker-says-legislature-not-out-of-control/feed/ 0