SOUTHEAST SASKATCHEWAN - Sheena Muirhead Koops, who is the New Democratic Party's candidate in Souris-Moose Mountain, has always had a keen interest in politics.
The NDP recently announced Muirhead Koops, who resides on a farm south of Macoun, as its candidate for the southeast riding for the April 28 federal election.
"I've always been aligned with the policies of the NDP since I was very young, and even asked my Grade 12 social studies teacher 'Would you be my researcher [if I run in an election]?' I called him, he lives out in Ontario now, and he was one of the first people I called, and I said 'Game on'," Muirhead Koops said in an interview with SaskToday.
She said she decided to run for the NDP when driving home one night. She could see lights from the U.S. Muirhead Koops said she was listening to U.S. President Donald Trump's "ridiculous" and "scary" comments, and it gave her a "gut punch of fear". But then she realized she could address the fear through love, a caring attitude and joy in the face of anger.
"I see that happening all over Canada right now. In many ways it's a beautiful time to be a Canadian, and remember who we are, where we're from and who we believe in," said Muirhead Koops.
After reading through the NDP policy manual, she saw the language she has built her life on from a faith perspective. She read about the economic hope of people working collaboratively, putting each other first and thinking about rural revitalization.
"We have all this land down here. We're a huge constituency. There's infrastructure in all of our towns. If we would put our hearts and minds together with our neighbouring communities, there is so much we could do as innovators. And then the dedication to universal health care, no one will stand up for health care like the New Democrats."
She believes universal health care is one of Canada's greatest sources of pride, but it needs to be reimagined to be brought into modern times.
"I think a lot of times people think that rural people are second class to the big cities and the big money, but Canada needs rural leadership right now, because that's where people know how to work together," she said.
Since becoming the candidate, she has been travelling to different communities in the riding. She participated in an event in Weyburn on April 5. The riding has been held by the Conservative Party since 2003 and a right-of-centre party since 1997, and to win the election, Muirhead Koops believes they need to remind people of the NDP mindset.
She hopes they can get to all of the communities in Souris-Moose Mountain, and she said she looks forward to seeing people she knows throughout the riding. Her campaign office will be virtual.
As of the afternoon of April 5, Muirhead Koops is one of four candidates for Souris-Moose Mountain, joining Steven Bonk (Conservative Party), Aziz Mian (Liberal Party) and Remi Rheault (Green Party).
They are in the race to replace Robert Kitchen of the Conservative Party. Kitchen, who was the Souris-Moose Mountain MP since 2015, announced last summer he would not seek re-election.
The People's Party of Canada had yet to post their candidate for Souris-Moose Mountain on their website.
The deadline for candidates to file their nomination with Elections Canada is April 7. The list of candidates will be official on April 9.
