Premier Scott Moe’s support of COVID-19 anti-vaccine/restriction supporters may be more harmful in the 2024 election than helpful.
It was three years ago that Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe decided he no longer had any interest in taking on the anti-vaccine right.
Three years later, Moe now finds himself in an election campaign in which he won’t get much reward for his appeasement, yet may still face backlash from those who think he put the province’s health in jeopardy.
In September 2021 — with rising COVID-19 death tolls, despite the availability of vaccines in what would become the fourth and deadliest wave — the Saskatchewan premier let his frustrations be known.
“Unfortunately today we are faced with a fourth wave,” Moe said then in an online video, rightly noting that the problem was “overwhelmingly” driven by the unvaccinated.
His pronouncement didn’t seem to go over all that well with either side.
Hospitals were at record capacity, patients were being shipped out of province and brain, heart and eye surgeries were being canceled; many thought Moe and his government needed to go further to stop the spread.
To this day, many remain appalled by the ease with which Moe and company caved in to what they believe is a vocal minority driven by anti-science beliefs gleaned from the furthest reaches of the Internet.
But vaccine holdouts would prove to be a motivated, mobilized and formidable political force.
This seems to be what the conservative Saskatchewan premier has most feared since the night of the last provincial election, when he chose to specifically tell those who voted for the mere 17 Buffalo Party candidates that he heard their message loud and clear.
After sitting shoulder to shoulder with Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab in urging people to get vaccinated and practice proper social distancing and mask-wearing, it had become apparent in September 2021 that 15 to 20 per cent of Saskatchewan people simply refused to get vaccinated.
Moe’s September 2021 posting would be the last attempt to convince them.
Yet Moe’s tone and actions became increasingly supportive of those opposing restrictions.
He met with Nadine Ness of Unified Grassroots and embraced the so-called Freedom Convoy that would later occupy downtown Ottawa and border crossings under the auspice of opposing the federal Liberal government. Upon returning after Christmas 2021, Moe announced restrictions had become too divisive for families and would be lifted.
Once the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic was over, the Sask. Party leader continued to appease concerns on the right by following up with the “economic sovereignty meetings,” the Saskatchewan First Act and then Bill 137, which lawyers, judges and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission say infringes on the rights of children.
Yet as Moe enters this campaign, it appears he perceives his biggest threat to be the Saskatchewan United Party, which now has three former Sask. Party MLAs (including Wilson) as its candidates.
Moe’s challenge this election is that neither side may think he’s done an especially good job of walking that line.
Mandryk is the political columnist for the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
Our websites are your destination for up-to-the-minute Saskatchewan news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and leaderpost.com. For Regina Leader-Post newsletters click here; for Saskatoon StarPhoenix newsletters click here