Saskatoon Meewasin

Saskatoon Meewasin follows the South Saskatchewan River through some of the city's most historic neighbourhoods, including River Heights, City Park, North Park, and Kelsey-Woodlawn. The riding gained national attention in 2017 when Ryan Meili won a by-election here, and again when Meili — by then NDP leader — barely held the seat in 2020 against a strong Saskatchewan Party challenge. After Meili announced his resignation as leader in February 2022 and subsequently vacated the seat, Nathaniel Teed won the ensuing September 2022 by-election with a commanding share of the vote. Teed entered the 2024 general election as a first-term incumbent seeking to demonstrate that his by-election performance was no fluke, and the result confirmed that the NDP's hold on the riverbank riding had solidified.

Candidates

Nathaniel Teed (NDP) — Born and raised in Saskatoon, Teed earned a Bachelor of Education from the University of Saskatchewan in 2018. His professional life spanned roles as an arts and culture fundraiser, an educational assistant, a teacher, and a small business owner — he and his partner James co-own Area Home + Lifestyle, a furniture and design shop in downtown Saskatoon. During his time as a fundraiser, he served as a CUPE Local 59 shop steward. Teed became Saskatchewan's first openly gay MLA upon his 2022 by-election victory and was active with OutSaskatoon. In the 29th Legislature, he served as the NDP's critic for labour, the Public Service Commission, and 2SLGBTQ affairs.

Maureen Alice Torr (Saskatchewan Party) — Born and raised in Uganda, Torr moved to Canada in 2004 and earned a diploma in business administration from Saskatoon Business College before completing a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. She worked as an international students coordinator at several Canadian universities and founded Joy's Centre Corporation, a Rotary Global Grant Award-winning organization that operates an orphanage and community school in Uganda. She was acclaimed as the Saskatchewan Party candidate.

Jacklin Andrews (Green Party) received approximately three per cent of the vote.

Local Issues

The transition from Meili to Teed represented a generational shift in the riding's NDP representation. Meili had defined the seat through his identity as a physician and healthcare advocate; Teed brought a different profile rooted in arts, education, and small business. His 2022 by-election victory served as an early test of Carla Beck's leadership, and his strong 2024 showing confirmed that the NDP's urban base had strengthened rather than fractured during the leadership change.

The Parents' Bill of Rights and the government's October 2024 announcement that it would require students to use change rooms corresponding to their biological sex carried particular resonance in Meewasin, where Teed's identity as an openly gay MLA and his role as the party's 2SLGBTQ affairs critic made him a prominent voice in the debate. The riding's proximity to the University of Saskatchewan campus meant that many voters were attentive to questions of inclusion and student welfare, and the NDP framed the government's policies as divisive and harmful to vulnerable youth.

Healthcare and the cost of living rounded out the local agenda. The riding's riverbank neighbourhoods included both established homeowners feeling the squeeze of rising property taxes and utility costs, and renters facing a tight vacancy market. Teed's emphasis on labour rights and workplace fairness connected these economic anxieties to his portfolio responsibilities, while the broader healthcare crisis ensured that emergency room overcrowding and physician shortages remained top-of-mind for voters across the constituency.