Saskatchewan's political parties jockey for position on shifting spectrum

A Saskatchewan election campaign is days away, and the province's candidates and parties are jockeying for positions on an always-evolving political spectrum, working to define what they are and where their opponents stand.

Last week, Premier Scott Moe spoke about how he and his party have been labelled in recent months.

"I've been called a Liberal, too far to the left, and I've been called an extreme right," Moe said.

Moe was asked about criticism by two former Saskatchewan Party MLAs, Denis Allchurch and Greg Brkich, who were announced as candidates for the Saskatchewan United Party last week.

Moe beat Allchurch in a contested nomination battle for Rosthern-Shellbrook in 2011.

In a news release, the Sask. United Party said Allchurch put his name forward because he "believes the province needs new, true conservative leadership."

Moe downplayed the impact of the announcement.

"There are two parties that can ultimately form government in this province, and that's the Saskatchewan Party and the NDP," he said. "You can vote for the NDP party directly, or indirectly by splitting the vote on the right."

He referenced the 2015 Alberta provincial election, when the Progressive Conservative Party and Wildrose received 28 and 24 per cent respectively, while the NDP received just over 40 per cent and formed government.

"So if you think you're going to outsmart vote-splitting, history proves you wrong," Moe said.

University of Calgary political science professor Lisa Young said the "vote-split" concern from Moe is "a cautionary tale for conservative premiers in these two provinces."

"It certainly is a pressure that you see conservative politicians being quite worried about. And there's always this dilemma of trying to hold on to those centrist voters who might potentially switch to the NDP, especially in urban areas."

Young said conservative parties want to "hold that right flank, and not end up in that situation where there is vote splitting and potentially the NDP can come up the left side and win seats unexpectedly."

The Opposition NDP has accused the Saskatchewan Party government of moving too far right under Moe.