Regina University

Regina University sits in the south end of the capital city, taking in the University of Regina campus, the residential streets surrounding Wascana Park, and — following the 2022 redistribution — a substantial portion of the former Regina Gardiner Park riding to the east. The boundary shift fundamentally altered the seat's political calculus: what had been a relatively compact constituency centered on the university neighbourhood became a broader swath of south Regina that included newer suburban development. Gene Makowsky, the former CFL star turned cabinet minister who had represented Gardiner Park, chose to run in the redrawn University riding rather than seek nomination elsewhere, setting up a high-profile clash with the NDP's Sally Housser in what analysts identified as one of the most competitive races in the province.

Candidates

Sally Housser (NDP) — Housser is a political commentator and public affairs professional who has appeared regularly on CBC's Power and Politics and in print and radio outlets nationwide. She previously served as deputy director of communications for the Manitoba government and worked as a consultant across renewable energy, oil and gas, healthcare, and information technology. Educated at the University of Ottawa, she was active on the boards of the Regina Chamber of Commerce and the Regina YMCA. The NDP recruited her as a high-profile candidate capable of matching Makowsky's name recognition.

Gene Makowsky (Saskatchewan Party) — Makowsky played seventeen seasons on the offensive line for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, earning two CFL Most Outstanding Lineman awards, five All-Star selections, and a 2007 Grey Cup ring before his 2015 induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Education and worked as a substitute teacher during off-seasons. Elected to the legislature in 2011, he held cabinet posts including Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, Minister of Advanced Education, and — at dissolution — Minister of Social Services, overseeing income-support and child-welfare programs.

Local Issues

The contest in Regina University played out against the backdrop of a provincial healthcare crisis that reverberated through the capital. Emergency-room overcrowding at Regina General Hospital — which serves the riding's residents — made national headlines, and the broader nursing shortage left clinics understaffed. Housser argued that the government's failure to retain healthcare workers had created a system where patients waited hours for care that should have been routine, while Makowsky pointed to recruitment initiatives and capital investments in hospital infrastructure.

Post-secondary education was a natural flashpoint in a riding that encompasses the University of Regina. Tuition increases during the 2020-2024 term, combined with a tight rental market that pushed student housing costs upward, prompted student organizations to call for greater provincial funding. The NDP pledged a tuition cap and increased operating grants, while the Saskatchewan Party emphasized its record on research funding and campus capital projects.

Crime and public safety also emerged as a doorstep issue, particularly in the eastern portions of the riding that absorbed parts of the old Gardiner Park constituency. Residents cited concerns about property crime and visible drug use in public spaces. The Saskatchewan Party promoted its plan for a provincial marshals service, while the NDP countered that the twenty-million-dollar program was wasteful and proposed redirecting those funds to municipal police forces and community-based intervention.