In the news today: It’s election day for Saskatchewan residents

By The Canadian Press on October 28, 2024.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

It’s election day for Saskatchewan residents

Saskatchewan residents will be casting their votes in today’s election as they decide who will form the next provincial government.

Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party is seeking a fifth-straight majority after 17 years in office, while Carla Beck’s NDP is looking to take back government for the first time since 2007.

Political experts say Moe is favoured to win, given his party’s strength in rural areas, but polls suggest a closer race.

Moe has promised broad tax relief and to continue withholding federal carbon levy payments to Ottawa.

Beck has pledged to spend more to fix health care and education, pause the gas tax, and remove the provincial sales tax on children’s clothes and some grocery items.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Vote count continues in B.C.’s tight election

Elections BC says the vote count in British Columbia’s nail-biter election continues today after weekend tallies failed to settle the contest.

Both David Eby’s New Democrats and John Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives are close to the magic number of 47 seats required to form a majority government in the province’s 93-seat legislature, but they need more votes.

Elections BC says it will start to count crucial absentee votes this morning and provide hourly updates of the results.

Elections BC says there was no shift in the party standings after Sunday’s count completion of mail-in and assisted-telephone ballots.

The current standings have the NDP leading or elected in 46 ridings, with the B.C. Conservatives leading or elected in 45 ridings and the Greens with two elected members.

The closest undecided riding in the province is Surrey-Guildford, where the B.C. Conservatives are leading, but the NDP has cut the margin to 12 votes.

First full campaign day in N.S. election

It’s the first full day of campaigning in the Nova Scotia provincial election.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston on Sunday called a snap election for Nov. 26, saying he needs a strong mandate to negotiate with the federal government and to invest more on housing and on measures to help with the cost of living.

The three main party leaders have events in the Halifax area this morning.

Houston is scheduled to make an announcement in the city’s north end.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill is holding a news conference at the party’s headquarters about transparency and accountability.

And NDP Leader Claudia Chender will hold a media availability on health care.

Trudeau hits caucus resignation call deadline

Justin Trudeau is supposed to respond today to a group of Liberal MPs demanding his resignation as party leader, but the prime minister has already made his plans clear.

At a Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday, 24 MPs delivered a letter to Trudeau asking him to resign and giving him until Monday to respond.

But the prime minister told reporters the next day that he plans to stay on at the party helm.

It’s unclear what the dissenting MPs – most of whom have stayed anonymous to the public – plan to do in response, with one of them saying he’s “moving on.”

The Trudeau government will be tested again on Tuesday when they hit another deadline from the Bloc Québécois to pass two pieces of legislation that would increase old-age security payments for seniors and bolster supply management.

Niagara plan may not include Marineland: minister

A major amusement park is part of Ontario’s grand vision to turn the Niagara region into Las Vegas north, but Marineland may not fit the bill, the provincial tourism minister says.

Stan Cho says his ministry has not spoken to the sprawling attraction, which is currently for sale and sits on 1,000 acres a short distance from Horseshoe Falls.

The province would like to see an amusement park somewhere in the region to act as a marquee attraction as part of its “Niagara strategy,” Cho said.

A new amusement park could be anywhere, and doesn’t need to use the existing infrastructure of Marineland, he suggested.

The park said last year it was up for sale, but it has yet to announce a deal. Owner Marie Holer died last month, which set in motion a succession plan that has not been shared publicly.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024.

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