NDP Leader Ryan Meili says he is going to shut the door on Scott Moe’s old boys club. He’s talking about corporate political donations. Meili says, since 2007, the Saskatchewan Party has taken in over $19 million in corporate donations, many of which, he says, are from outside Saskatchewan. He says, “We have some of the loosest oversight of political donations in the country and it undermines our democracy at its very core.” Meili says the Sask Party won’t bring our election laws into the 21st century because they can’t get enough of this cash.

Meili points to the influence of the Buffalo Project, which he says has fanned the flames of separatist sentiment in Alberta and Saskatchewan with divisive third-party advertising and social media campaigns. The Buffalo Project was founded in 2018, and since then, Meili says Buffalo Project-linked donations to the Saskatchewan Party rose from $5,930.00 in 2018 to $56,960.00 in 2019.

The Buffalo Project says its mission is to bring about positive, sustainable change by providing a better understanding of Alberta and Saskatchewan to all Canadians. It also says that it funds aligned groups and activities to educate voters and bring about lasting change for Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The NDP says it plans to ban corporate and union donations and bring in a cap on contributions as well as ensure that only individuals who are residents of Saskatchewan can donate.