SASKATOON — David Buckingham, Ken Cheveldayoff, Bronwyn Eyre, Lisa Lambert, and Paul Merriman are looking to help the Saskatchewan Party keep its majority in the city after three of their colleagues decided not to seek re-election.
Marv Friesen (Riversdale), Don Morgan (Southeast), and Gord Wyant (Northeast) decided not to run for different reasons.
Friesen served only one term and was appointed Legislative Secretary for Parks, Culture, and Sport. Morgan was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and was Deputy Premier under Brad Wall’s government from 2016 to 2018. Wyant chose to run as mayor of Saskatoon.
Despite Buckingham’s controversial statements a few years ago, for which he has already apologized, he remains undeterred. He wants to put the issue behind him and focus on winning the election to continue serving his constituents in Westview, a job he has done for almost nine years.
“I hope they would give me a fair chance to represent them. I respect them [Westview residents] deeply. It’s been very honourable for me to represent them for the last eight and a half years,” said Buckingham, who has Leader Scott Moe’s support.
Buckingham entered politics in 2016 and was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2020. He has served the Saskatchewan Party-led provincial government in various capacities, including as the Government Caucus chair and legislative secretary to the Ministers responsible for SaskTel, SGI, and Immigration.
Cheveldayoff was first elected as Saskatoon Silversprings’ MLA in 2003 and re-elected in 2007 and 2011. The changes in provincial boundaries after the 2011 provincial elections moved his constituency to Willowgrove, where he again won in 2016 and 2020.
He served as chair of the Committee on Human Services and has a long list of previous ministries headed, including Crown Corporations, Enterprise, SaskEnergy, Trade, First Nations and Métis Relations, Gaming Corp., Northern Affairs, and Environment.
Eyre hopes to keep representing the Stonebridge constituency for the third straight term after serving from 2016 to 2024. Before deciding to enter politics, she was a broadcaster, columnist, and university lecturer, and she also served on the Saskatoon Public Schools board of trustees.
She was a senior writer and editor for UK-based legal publications. She earned her law degree at the University of Saskatchewan, which led to her appointment as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
Lambert was first elected to represent Churchill-Wildwood in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020. She was raised in Brevoort Park, which is under her constituency. She is a known volunteer in her community and served for four terms on the Catholic school board.
She was a member of their community association for 10 years, including as president. Her community work extends to being chair of the Lakewood Suburban Program Advisory Committee and a 15-year volunteer at the Saskatoon Friendship Inn, where she served on the board for four years.
Merriman has served the Silverspring constituency since 2011. Although born in Toronto, he has called Saskatoon his home since 1994, after moving with his family to Saskatchewan in 1988.
He worked at SaskEnergy for eight years and was the executive director of the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre before being elected to the Legislative Assembly. His previous cabinet positions were Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, Health, Social Services, Government House Leader and Government Whip.
Olugbenga Fakoyejo (Riversdale), Daly Hryunik (Centre), Francis Kreiser (Eastview), Ghislaine McLeod (University-Sutherland), Mumtaz Naseeb (Nutana), Dr. John Owojori (Southeast), Parminder Singh (Chief Mistawasis), Zahid Sandhu (Fairview) and Maureen Alice Torr (Meewasin) are the new Saskatchewan Party candidates.
Fakoyejo is using his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics as a Senior Financial Advisor. He also holds certifications in climate risk, financial planning, investment, and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) from the Canadian Securities Institute, Corporate Finance Institute, and the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.
Hrynuik has worked as an electrician for over 30 years with the City of Saskatoon, where he became the facilities department’s project manager and superintendent. He works at a Saskatoon electrical contractor firm and has volunteered at the Folkfest, Santa Claus Parade, and Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital fundraisers.
Kreiser used his bachelor’s degree in Arts and Education from the University of Saskatchewan as a school teacher and administrator. His volunteer and fundraising work includes the Knights of Columbus Councils and the St. John Bosco Wilderness Camp. He also spent three years as a lay missionary in Southern Peru.
McLeod was born and raised in Saskatoon and wants to bring her 25 years of experience as a strategic advisor and business communicator in the corporate and public sectors and non-profit organizations to the Legislative Assembly. She owns an independent consultant company, Capital G Communications.
Naseeb is a registered social worker with a master’s degree in Social Work. He has volunteered with the Friendship Inn, Saskatchewan Health Authority, Mental Health & Addiction Services, SWITCH at Westside Community Clinic and Saskatoon Open Door Society.
Owojori has a Ph.D. in soil ecotoxicology from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and postdoctoral fellowships in Canada and Germany. He was an expert scientist on a University of Saskatchewan-led project focused on eco-restoration in the boreal shield. He was a visiting professor in Nigeria and South Africa before moving to Saskatoon in 2009.
Singh earned an MBA in Finance and Marketing and continued his studies in Kitchener, Ontario, before moving to Saskatoon in 2011. He is the treasurer of the Saskatoon Sikh Temple (West) and believes in an inclusive and progressive government where every voice in the community matters.
Sandhu was born and raised in Pakistan, where he helped care for his seven siblings and operated their family farm. He holds a Master of Law and practiced for 12 years in Pakistan before making Saskatoon his home in 2011. There, he worked as a labourer, pizza maker, taxi, and delivery driver before starting his own business.
Torr was born and raised in Uganda and moved to Canada in 2004, where she earned her B.A. in Political Studies from the University of Saskatchewan. Her public service career began as an International Student coordinator at various Canadian universities before she became the founding director of Joy’s Centre Corp., a Rotary Global Grant Award-winning organization.
The Saskatoon-based organization holds outreach projects for underprivileged children in orphanages and community schools in Uganda. She’s active in volunteer work with the Rotary Club of Saskatoon and the Friendship Inn, mentoring youth with the Saskatchewan Intercultural Association, and providing home and spiritual guidance in various care homes.