The MLA representing northeast Saskatchewan met with members of Creighton’s town council last week, his first visit to the area since being elected last fall.
Newly elected MLA Jordan McPhail met with Creighton town councillors during their first meeting of 2025 Jan. 8, sitting in with them and answering questions from the group. A rookie at the provincial level but a previous town councillor for La Ronge, the 31-year-old Saskatchewan NDP MLA stopped in as part of a tour of northern local councils.
“I’m on my sort of beginning of 2025 tour, if you will,” said McPhail to councillors.
“My goal is to make sure that not only you, the mayor and council of Creighton, are no strangers to me and my office, but also the residents and community members here.”
McPhail represents the Cumberland constituency, which covers all of northeast Saskatchewan, ranging from Cumberland House and La Ronge up to the border with the Northwest Territories. The riding includes Creighton, Denare Beach, Pelican Narrows and other nearby communities. Doyle Vermette, the long-time MLA for the region, announced in 2023 that he would be stepping down - McPhail ran unopposed as Vermette’s successor, then took 55 per cent of the total vote on election night in October.
During the meeting, McPhail said he wanted to hear more from northern residents, including people in Creighton and Denare Beach and local leadership.
“For myself, my views on politics and how I plan to be the MLA is to work with the community, not on behalf unless you ask me to. You guys are the experts, you are the people elected to serve your community here and you know the issues better than I ever could because I’m not living in Creighton day and day out, seeing the issues that you might have,” he said to council members.
“There are ways through Zoom or Microsoft Teams that I’m proficient in, but my preference is to be in-person, getting the coffee row conversations and really getting into what the communities are facing.”
During his town council days in La Ronge, McPhail worked often with Creighton Mayor Bruce Fidler on regional matters. Fidler was not physically at the meeting, but attended via a Zoom link from a hotel room in Prince Albert, where he was attending the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) northern caucus and mayors’ meeting. Fidler apologized for not making it in-person, while McPhail heaped praise on his work.
“I always know from our time working together in many different organizations that you’re always advocating for the community in many different spots… thank you for your service,” said McPhail to Fidler.
As an MLA in opposition, McPhail has been assigned roles as critic for different ministries and provincial government responsibilities - McPhail is the NDP’s shadow minister for northern affairs, forestry and SaskTel, the same company that he had previously worked for as a field services technician. McPhail was part of an NDP campaign effort that came up short of winning last fall’s election, but grew the party’s presence in legislature from 14 to 27 seats - not far short of the ruling Saskatchewan Party’s 34.
“I hope that you see me as a teammate that can help you, wherever you may be. Of course, being in opposition, we don’t have our hands on the lever of power, but I can say that in previous years, we’ve had a canoe versus a battleship - now we have two very similar-sized ships in Regina fighting each other,” he said.
“Whatever way I can be of support, please see me as a person that can do that. Whether it’s at a council meeting or if you want to have coffee when I’m in town, let me know.”
