Universal agreement

Based on Murray Mandryk's Week 1 recap from Saskatchewan's election campaign, it looks like my theory as to the most likely battleground may be right on the money, as the Sask Party seems eager to base its message on narrowly-focused programs rather than universal ones:

At Calvert's election announcement Wednesday night, the buzz among New Democrats was that voters' minds would be made up in the first few days of the campaign. We now know that the NDP was talking about its universal drug plan that was designed to solidify the vote.

However, Wall said Friday that the difference between Calvert's drug plan and his own may "already be the turning point" but one that has turned in his party's favour. Voters have a clear choice between the NDP's slashy, costly and unnecessary plan and the Saskatchewan Party's targeted, moderate and costed-out approach, Wall contended at his announcement.

One Saskatchewan Party insider privately acknowledged Friday the party's smaller-announcement approach -- including its alternative prescription drug plan policy that was actually reported last spring -- has come from policy pre-election focus group testing.

Of course, a focus-group test may not tell the whole story when it comes time to defend a policy choice as part of an election debate. And the Sask Party's position will leave the NDP with plenty of ammunition as well - both to defend the value of universality in its own policy proposals, and to question whether Wall would later seek to narrow the benefit from other popular programs as well in keeping with the same arguments he's making to defend his prescription drug policy.

It remains to be seen which view will in out in the end. But whatever the outcome, it looks like both the NDP and the Sask Party are more than willing to agree that the question of universality will be the main issue for Saskatchewan voters to decide at the polls.

Update: GPM has another example, pointing out the contrast between Sask Party's all-but-declared proposal to offer tax credits for children's activities and the NDP's plan to make sports and arts programs more accessible in the first place.