BECK LAYS OUT SASKATCHEWAN NDP PRIORITIES AHEAD OF ‘POTENTIAL GAMECHANGER’ FEDERAL BUDGET

Building Infrastructure, Expanding Trade & Helping Lower Cost of Living Should Be Priorities 
REGINA – Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck is calling on the Federal Liberal Government and Conservative Opposition to work together to bring forward, pass and implement a budget that enables building game-changing infrastructure, expands trade and helps families with the sky-high cost of living. 
“A budget that is focused on the right priorities for Saskatchewan could be a potential gamechanger,” Beck said during a Friday’s news conference. “We know the world is changing and we face many existential threats right now. Devastating tariffs, a skyrocketing cost of living and people telling us every day they’re working harder and harder and falling farther and farther behind.
“It’s time for the federal government to come to the table and fulfill promises it campaigned on six months ago. It’s time for Saskatchewan people to get their fair share of federal investment in major infrastructure projects, access to new trade markets and for working people and their families to feel supported as they work to put a roof over their heads and food on the kitchen table.”
Beck, joined by Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Finance Minister and Deputy Agriculture Shadow Minister Trent Wotherspoon, said she was supportive of the Federal Government backing the Foran copper mine in their initial list of national projects; however, she expects a great deal more in the budget — namely, investments in pipelines, rail lines and powerlines.
Beck also said she would be looking for sectoral support for industries hammered by tariffs from Trump’s America, China and India. Exports to China specifically have fallen 35.8 per cent year-to-date and were down 76.5 per cent in August 2025 when compared with August 2024.
Wotherspoon added that acting to immediately end the devastating tariffs on producers must happen and that securing access to new markets — such as the United Kingdom and China for Saskatchewan beef — should be priorities.
“This is such a critical moment for Saskatchewan,” Wotherspoon said. “Producers have been hammered and export markets have taken a beating, but there is a real moment here for the federal government to lean into all we have to offer here in Saskatchewan.
“People and producers here are hardworking and self-reliant — if you ensure market access and open doors to new opportunities for them they will run right through.”
People in Saskatchewan report the highest financial anxiety in Canada and in some centres nearly 40 per cent food bank users in the province are children.
Beck is seeking a commitment that no new taxes will be imposed on Saskatchewan families or businesses and that the budget delivers substantial movement on programs to help struggling families, like the school nutrition program and expansion of pharmacare.
A full list of her priorities for the Federal Budget was included in a letter sent to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Official Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre on Friday.
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