Saskies, share what will shape how you vote in the next federal election
We all vote for different reasons. We want to hear yours
Canada will have a federal election sometime in 2025. It could be as early as spring.
We all choose to vote for different reasons. CBC Saskatchewan wants to make sure your voice is heard.
What's the one issue that matters the most to you? Do you have a specific personal story that illustrates your experience?
We're looking for several people from across Saskatchewan to shares their perspectives on CBC. Not the same political talking heads, but real people with real stakes in the outcome of the next election.
"We have the bread basket of North America, especially here in Saskatchewan," said Chad Ross, a rancher who lives near Estevan, explaining his top priority is a government that will focus on prioritizing food and fuel industries.
"We should be the richest nation in the world because of those things and those natural resources."
In the north, Peter Durocher has spent years in Île-à-la-Crosse trying to protect a block of land, and get it designated as an Indigenous-protected and conserved area. Instead, wildfires have destroyed the land around him and put local ways of living off the land at risk, making environmental protection his top election priority.
"More than half our area has burned in the last three years in Île-à-la-Crosse," he said. "When you lose a significant area like that, it changes your perspective on how you're going to feed your family."
Maybe you've had to use a food bank to feed your family due to inflation, or you've seen the threat of tariffs affect your sense of job security.
Whatever it is, we're looking for people to share how their experiences have informed the major factor shaping their vote. If you feel like your perspective isn't represented or heard on a national stage, here's your chance to help change that. Democracy is stronger when we hear perspectives from across all of our communities.
This is a paid writing opportunity and you don't have to be a professional writer. You'll be invited to an optional half-day online writing workshop with CBC's First Person producer Tamara Baluja and other editors from across the country. Then you'll work one-on-one with a CBC Saskatchewan editor to produce your piece.
Want to see previous First Person columns we've published? Check out our website and FAQ here.
Questions? Email me at janani.whitfield@cbc.ca.