On June 26, at a packed leadership convention held at the Delta Hotel in Regina, Sask NDP party members voted decisively to elect Carla Beck as the party's first female leader.
Beck will now attempt to increase support for the party leading up to the 2024 provincial election, when she will run to be Saskatchewan's first female premier.
Kaitlyn Harvey was the only other candidate. Harvey is a Saskatoon lawyer and a member of the Métis nation. She does not currently hold a seat as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).
Harvey gave a scorching interview to the Regina Leader-Post on June 14 after a leadership debate against Carla Beck. In the interview, she accused the Sask NDP of ousting former leader Ryan Meili by deliberately undermining him. She claimed she was targeted during the race by the party establishment, who had already made up their minds on Beck.
Harvey received 1,492 votes; Beck won with 3,244 votes.
First elected as the MLA for Regina-Lakeview in 2016, Beck served as the Opposition Caucus Chair, critic for Education, Early Learning, and Childcare, and critic for Labour.
Beck is a registered social worker with 20 years of experience, including as the assistance executive director of a Regina women's shelter.
