Campaigning gets underway for Feb. 15 provincial byelection in Athabasca

Prince Albert -

A provincial byelection is set for Feb.15 in the northwest electoral district of Athabasca. The seat has been vacant since last August when the former NDP MLA Buckley Belanger resigned to run in the federal election.

The NDP and Saskatchewan Party are running candidates who live in the district. Both candidates are members of Clearwater River Dene Nation.

The NDP candidate is Georgina Jolibois. She is currently serving her fifth term as mayor of La Loche and is also the chairperson of New North’s board of directors.

"It is very important that we elect a voice, someone who can speak up for us here in northwest Saskatchewan and not someone who can be just a puppet and a back bencher," said Jolibois.

She was elected as a NDP Member of Parliament for Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River in 2015 and lost the seat in the 2019 election.

The Saskatchewan Party candidate, Jim Lemaigre, says he grew up in La Loche and is a member of Clearwater River Dene Nation. He also served as an elected Clearwater band councillor for 18 months.

"I listened to leadership, our volunteer groups, talking about their concerns and issues and I think to bring that forward and have that voice within government, that is what really drew me to put my name forward,” said Lemaigre.

He is currently employed by the province as a program manager for the First Nations and Indigenous Policing Program. He also served as a member of the RCMP for 14 years.

The Saskatchewan Liberal Party is not fielding a candidate in the riding.

“We are in the process of rebuilding and did not want to just parachute a candidate in for the sake of doing it and risk splitting the vote. That would be disrespectful to the voters in Athabasca,” said Liberal Party Leader Jeff Walters.