The New Democratic Party’s Talon Regent is pleased that his party gained an additional seat in this year’s federal election and believes more Canadians are warming up to the organization.
“It shows that our message is resonating with the people of Canada. It shows that our support is growing, and as long as it continues to grow one election at a time, we will form government, and we will bring about the positive change that the people of Canada deserve,” Regent said at his campaign office while watching the post-election results with his team on Sept. 20.
Regent placed second in the Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency after receiving 7,290 votes or 18.7 per cent of the popular vote. This was an increase from the previous federal election when he received 17 per cent of the vote.
The community lawyer thought his team ran a great campaign, especially since he had more volunteers, donations, and lawn signs than in 2019. He also thought the NDP’s values continued to grow in the riding, particularly with putting people first, holding the “ultra-wealthy” accountable, and implementing universal pharma, dental, mental, and optical care.
The NDP will continue to fight for these objectives, and whether Regent is a Member of Parliament, a community lawyer, or a regular Canadian citizen, he plans to continue pushing for these goals.
“I hope that Fraser Tolmie took some of that away in his campaign, and I hope that when he goes to Ottawa as our Member of Parliament, that he is fighting for the people of this constituency because that is what they deserve,” said Regent.
“So a big congratulations to him. I do hope he does live up to the station that he is now taking over.”
Regent was disappointed with how many votes he received but was optimistic that they could still grow once all ballots were counted. Even if the numbers don’t increase, he believes there is the opportunity to grow them during the next federal election.
“… at a certain point, Saskatchewanians are going to wake up and realize that they haven’t been represented in Ottawa by Conservatives for many, many decades. And they will realize that New Democrats will fight for them,” he continued.
Many people voted for Tolmie because they likely hoped he would be different from the previous MP, Tom Lukiwski, and would have more energy and be more involved in Ottawa, Regent remarked. However, only time would tell whether those voters were correct, while Regent also hoped that Tolmie would be an MP for everyone.
“And if not, I’m going to be there in the next election to hold him accountable,” he added.
Regent felt more comfortable with the election process this time around compared to 2019. He came with an open mind and desire to understand how the process worked, what was expected of him as a candidate, and the toll it would take since the public spotlight would be on him frequently.
“… with that understanding, I was able to pace myself much more effectively,” he added. “Even today, at the end of the election, I’ve still got energy left, I’m still optimistic, and I’m going to keep fighting.”
Regent was unsure if he would run again in the next federal election since his electoral district association would need to hold an election to choose the next candidate.
However, he pointed out that he is still an NDP member, is the treasurer for his party’s electoral association, is president of the Saskatchewan council, and is a council member federally.
He also planned to continue to fight for residents as a lawyer.
