As rumours from Ottawa continue to hint at a fall federal election, more and more candidates are coming forward as nominees to represent Moose Jaw - Lake Centre - Lanigan.

The race for the Conservative nomination already has two candidates, and now local lawyer and previous federal contender Talon Regent has announced his bid for the NDP.

Regent ran for the New Democratic Party in the 2019 election, losing to incumbent Conservative MP Tom Lukiwski by nearly 25,000 votes. He says he was motivated to run again after seeing how the Liberals and Conservatives have managed the pandemic recovery.

"I've seen the Liberals and Conservatives voting against paid sick leave, minimum standards in care homes, and bolstering social safety nets. That is going to hurt our economy because it makes us less healthy...I want to stand up for a robust economy and I believe that that starts with a healthy community."

Born and raised on the Prairies, Regent speaks both English and French and was recently named among the 'Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers Across Canada' by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. He describes himself as an internationally recognized negotiator and tech entrepreneur. Within the NDP, Regent is the president of the Council of Federal Electoral District Associations and serves as the treasurer of the local NDP association. He says he passionate about seeing the riding meeting its potential.

"I support our community by acting on various local boards and generally volunteering. I want to make Moose Jaw - Lake Centre - Lanigan the best community that it can be."

Regent believes that reviving the economy and repaying the debts accrued from the pandemic are the foremost issues for the area but that the Liberals' and Conservatives' plans to stimulate the economy by spending more money are not feasible.

"There is another clear option available. We have billionaires and billion-dollar corporations that are paying literally zero dollars in taxes. These sources of revenue are going to be essential to get us out of debt in a way that won't crush local mom 'n pop shops."

While the federal NDP has struggled to win seats in Saskatchewan, Regent believes that the tide may be turning in his favour.

"The change is already happening. With this pandemic, people are starting to realize that the Conservatives and Liberals are not out for their best interests. They have been giving massive bailouts to various corporations but they are not prioritizing people and Saskatchewanians are hurting because of that. And because they are hurting, they are open to new options."

Regent also points to the NDP's past, which has its roots in rural Canada and among workers. In the same way that Tommy Douglas brought medicare and electricity to underserved and remote regions, Regent hopes to bring affordable housing, internet, and telecommunications to Moose Jaw - Lake Centre - Lanigan.

"Douglas was promising access to services that rural communities would never have dreamed that they could have access to. That's the same way that I'm going to convince rural voters that the NDP is the party for them."

A common argument against the NDP's economic and environmental policies is that they will hurt the agricultural, energy, and natural resource sectors. While Regent agrees that oil and gas will eventually need to be phased out, he contends that workers in these sectors will not get left behind.

"We have a very comprehensive platform to make sure that those workers are supported. Our plans are going to see more people employed and retrained into high-quality, well-paying jobs than either the Liberal or Conservative plans will. We want to transition to an environmentally clean and sustainable energy source but also make sure that the people in oil and gas have an opportunity to get further training so that they don't get left behind."

On the issue of western alienation, which has become significantly more prevalent in recent years, Regent argues that this sentiment has stemmed from decades of representation from the Conservative Party.

"At a certain point, you have to ask whether the Conservatives are representing you in a way that gets your voice heard in Ottawa. Right now, the answer to that question is 'no.' So people can continue to vote for Conservatives and continue to feel western alienation or they can try something new."

There is no date scheduled for the NDP nomination convention as of yet, but Regent says it will be sometime this summer.