He’s been the MLA covering northeast Saskatchewan for three consecutive terms - now, Doyle Vermette will run for a fourth term.
The NDP MLA for Cumberland was announced Nov. 23 as the candidate for the next provincial election. Vermette was first elected to the seat in 2008 in a byelection following the resignation of previous MLA Joan Beatty.
Vermette defeated Saskatchewan Party candidate and former Cumberland House mayor Dale McAuley in 2008, former La Ronge mayor Joe Hordyski in 2011 and former La Ronge mayor Thomas Sierzycki in 2016.
Originally from Prince Albert, Vermette and his family moved to La Ronge in 1990 and has worked with his family’s forestry company in Spruce Home. A former school board chair and alderman in Air Ronge, Vermette has sat on a number of corporate and community boards. Within the Legislative Assembly, Vermette currently serves as the NDP’s opposition whip, critic for northern Saskatchewan and associate critic for First Nations and Metis Relations.
Vermette came to Creighton earlier this year, along with NDP MLAs and critics Danielle Chartier and Vicki Mowat, to host a community health forum. Vermette has also spoken in legislature about the suspension of obstetric services in Flin Flon, northern infrastructure, epidemic levels of suicide in remote communities and economic development.
“The Sask. Party is letting people down, particularly in the north,” said Vermette in an NDP-issued news release.
“We need real action to address the suicide crisis in our province and we need to invest in the supports people need to succeed. I won’t rest until this government stops ignoring the issues facing the people of our province’s north.”
The next Saskatchewan election is set to take place either on or before Oct. 26, 2020. Both main provincial parties will have rookie leaders at the helm. Scott Moe, currently Saskatchewan’s premier, will face his first election as Saskatchewan Party leader, along with NDP leader Ryan Meili. The Saskatchewan Party currently has 46 seats to the NDP’s 13. Two seats, Saskatoon-Eastview and Regina Walsh Acres, are vacant after Saskatchewan Party MLAs Corey Tochor and Warren Steinley ran successfully as Conservative candidates in this year’s federal election.
