Carla Beck reflects on 2025 and looks forward to new year for Sask. NDP

As the year wraps up, Opposition Leader Carla Beck spoke to the Regina Leader-Post about the Saskatchewan NDP’s work in 2025 and what’s to come for her party.

(The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

Q: What do you believe the biggest issue was in 2025 for Saskatchewan people, and what did your party do to address it as the Opposition?

A: I think the number one issue continues to be the fact that people in this province have a sense that they’re working harder and harder, but more and more people are falling behind. Cost-of-living issues come up in every every conversation that we have.

We’ve been continuing to draw attention to decisions like placing the PST on essentials like kids’ clothing and groceries. To be clear, we’d like to see that removed from essentials.

The biggest thing, though, that we brought forward this last session was a bill to bring rent control to the province — something that the 300,000 renters in this province, after 41 months of rent increases, desperately need.

There are a lot of other concerns, more broadly, with the economy, with health care, and getting the infrastructure built that we need to position ourselves towards the future.

Q: What’s one thing you can cite from 2025 to demonstrate that what your party has to offer is better than what the government could?

A: Our role in the legislature right now is that of the official Opposition, holding the government to account, and I think we have done that every day since the last election.

This is a team that is not content — I am not content — to simply criticize the government. We’ve also been focused on bringing forth solutions, private members bills, to address the issues that Saskatchewan people tell us are most important to them.

Our team is focused on the future, consulting with people in this province and building positive solutions, instead of making decisions that impact people’s lives in small rooms in Regina. We hear it all the time. This is a government that has run out of ideas and stopped listening. That does not describe our team.

Q: In what areas do you feel your party could be stronger, and how will you achieve that?

A: One of the things that we understand that we have to continue to do is to build connections, to build trust, in rural Saskatchewan.

We saw gains in communities outside of the major centres in this province in the last election. In some cases, vote swings as large as over 30 per cent. But we know that there’s still more work to do.

We also know that it is often rural Saskatchewan that has been most impacted by the failures of this government after 18 years — a government that has taken rural Saskatchewan for granted.

Q: What kinds of tangible things can Saskatchewan people expect to see from the Opposition in 2026?

A: You’ll see some of the first reports back from our Your Care, Your Say health consultations.

People can expect to see a report back from our Grid and Growth Plan to ensure that we have the energy generation in this province to be able to build into the future.

People will continue to see us press for a wildfire strategy in this province to ensure that we’re ready for the next wildfire season, something that we didn’t see this year.

And people can continue to see this team out in communities right across this province, willing to listen to people’s concerns, but also listen to their solutions to ensure we get this province back on track again.

Q: What does your party need to do in order to form government the next time Saskatchewan votes?

A: The night of the last election when we came so close to forming government, I promised the people in that room and the people of this province — all of those who know that we need change in this province, all of those who are being left behind by this government after 18 years — that we would not stop working until we were able to deliver the change that people are looking for.

What we’ve continued to do since then has been to work every day to connect with people across this province, literally and figuratively — meet them where they’re at on the issues that are most important to them, to understand where the problems are, but also show our commitment to building solutions with them.

It’s our job to demonstrate that not only is better possible, but that the Saskatchewan NDP will deliver that bright future that we all want to see for Saskatchewan.

bharder@postmedia.com

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