Leader Profile: Rose Buscholl, Progressive Conservative Party

Rose Buscholl is the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan leader. (Photo Submitted)

The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan, a party with a history dating back to 1905, aims to make a comeback in the upcoming provincial election.

Led by Rose Buscholl, the party is fielding a growing slate of candidates and pitching a platform focused on affordability, healthcare, education, and community support.

“There's a lot of challenges facing people in Saskatchewan,” Buscholl said. “We are coming out currently with a very comprehensive affordability plan, which really will encompass a lot of these issues that people are struggling and facing right now.”

Founded as the Provincial Rights Party by former Northwest Territories Premier Frederick Haultain, the party has a storied past, having formed government in Saskatchewan three times. However, it has faced significant challenges in recent years, including an expense fraud scandal in the 1990s and a decline in popularity that saw it finish fifth in the popular vote in the 2020 election.

Buscholl, the PC candidate for Humboldt-Watrous said her party has 14 candidates in the race this year, with more to be announced in upcoming elections.

After years of decline, she says the party is rebuilding and refocusing on the issues that matter most to voters.

“With the affordability plan, there is definite relief in there for families and people that are struggling, help with housing, food security, and at the same time, we're also creating jobs,” she said.

When it comes to healthcare, PC proposes utilizing existing resources, increasing local medical education seats, and adjusting doctor pay scales to recruit and retain professionals.

Buscholl says what the current provincial government does is “putting a bandage on a big gushing open wound.”

"We want to use existing healthcare professionals that we have and make sure they're working, make sure they have the materials they need," Buscholl said.

“We see people go out and [become] paramedics. Well, they're leaving for different provinces to find work. Well, why don't we utilize them in our emergency rooms in trauma situations?”

She says, as the next premier she would bring back retired nurses to the healthcare centres to help fill the void.

“We've got a group of retired nurses that have, if they have the option, some of them will definitely come back on a part-time or casual basis to help fill that void.” She said.

Buscholl criticized the Sask. Party for focusing on tax cuts without addressing infrastructure and healthcare.

"Everybody says, 'cut taxes, cut taxes.' But if you cut taxes, what are you going to do to pay for infrastructure and healthcare?"

In education, Buscholl advocates for better support for teachers, including more psychologists in schools and smaller class sizes.

"Politicians need to stop using education as a political battleground and leave it to the educators," she said. “When you have one psychologist per 3,000 people, like 3,000 students, that's not near enough.”

Buscholl believes that drug addiction is “horrible” in the province which affects not only individuals but also their loved ones and communities.

"We need to look at the family as a whole, because they suffer from the same addiction, even if they're not physically addicted," Buscholl said. “This means providing support services for families affected by addiction, acknowledging their struggles, and addressing the root causes of addiction.”

To combat drug addiction, Buscholl advocates for reducing the supply of drugs by tackling trafficking.

"If we didn't have this stuff out there, people wouldn't have it," she said.

“By slowing down the supply, resources can be redirected to help individuals struggling with addiction.”

Recently, the PC Party was exploring a potential coalition with the Buffalo Party, which debuted in the 2020 provincial election and received 2.6 per cent of the vote.

"We're having discussions with the Buffalo Party about how we can work together to build a better future for Saskatchewan," Buscholl said.

The parties started to discuss a merger in early September, however, the Buffalo Parly leader Phillip Zajac says the talks had ended without an agreement.