REGINA – The latest political back-and-forth between the Sask Party and the NDP came over comments by one of the government’s ministers on a podcast this week.
In that podcast Minister of Trade and Export Development Warren Kaeding had said “I tell everyone, you know when everyone is concerned about affordability, ‘hey, you didn’t grow up in an era where there’s 18 and a half per cent interest rate.”
At a media event at the Legislature NDP Energy critic Sally Housser pounced on the remarks. She pointed to Kaeding’s six-figure ministerial salary and called his comments “tone deaf.”
“Saskatchewan is facing a cost of living crisis,” said Housser, who pointed to costs of gas and food and said it was a “real crisis that’s hitting people hard.”
Housser lambasted the view of those "who don’t seem to think it’s that big of a deal, who think the people who complain about it should just suck it up. That seems to be the view of Scott Moe and some of his ministers.”
In response, the government issued a statement Friday afternoon in which they accused the Opposition of having “attempted a smear campaign on the Trade and Export Development minister while speaking about the challenges of high interest rates that previous generations faced in the agriculture industry.”
”If the NDP had listened to the very next sentence, they would have heard ‘And I don’t want any generation to have to go through what we did in the early 80s,’” they stated.
The government also pointed to Saskatchewan being the “most affordable place to live for a family of four in Canada,” as well as providing over $2.5 billion in annual affordability measures.
The government also took at shot at Housser for her stances on the carbon tax, quoting her as having said “I very much support a price on carbon”.
”The NDP continue to say one thing, but do another and this is why nobody can take the NDP seriously,” the government stated.
This latest back and forth between the two main parties comes the same week that the NDP have stepped up attacks on the government over economic issues, including the loss of jobs so far in 2026.
The NDP have particularly focused on the issue after news broke of the curtailment of the Big River sawmill this week, with Northern Affairs and Forestry Jordan McPhail critical of the government over the layoff of 117 workers.
On Thursday, the NDP also issued a news release in which they pointed to Statistics Canada data showing “6,900 jobs lost here between January and the end of June,” as well as unemployment having climbed to 6.1 per cent, which they described as a “significant jump from 4.5 per cent a year ago.”
The NDP also pointed to the job losses in Prince Albert and northern Saskatchewan, where “approximately 2,400 jobs have disappeared over the past year.”
That prompted a response Friday morning from the government, who countered by citing a year over year increase compared to 2025.
“Last night, the NDP sent out a news release containing incorrect information in the headline on job numbers,” they stated. “Saskatchewan averaged 616,500 people working through the first six months of 2026, compared to 613,100 in the first six months of 2025, a difference of 3,400 more jobs.”
