LANIGAN, Sask. – Eric Upshall’s entrance goes largely unnoticed by the patrons of a small-town cafe.
Few bother to look up from their coffee cups until he approaches them. For someone who has been making the news regularly over the past year, this is a welcome respite.
In stark contrast to his life as Saskatchewan’s agriculture minister, Upshall’s life on the campaign trail is positively peaceful. Even people he knows won’t vote for him are, for the most part, pleasant.
“We only see you when an election is on,” one woman says at a local farmers market.
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“That’s not true,” Upshall replies, and quickly moves on to visit each table and hand out campaign literature.
Another woman, who won’t give her name but says she has sons who farm, said she won’t vote for Upshall. She doesn’t think he has enough clout in Ottawa to get something for farmers. But she concedes he will probably win the election – again.
Upshall was first elected in 1986, and re-elected in 1991 in what was then known as the Humboldt constituency. When the boundaries were redrawn for the 1995 election, he won in Watrous with 47 percent.
“To be elected for a fourth term would be a real honor, something I would be proud of,” Upshall said.
But the estimated 30 percent of voters who are undecided have him worried. He wonders how many will take out their frustrations on him at the ballot box Sept. 16.
As he makes his way from farm to farm he is buoyed by the friendly reception. Everyone agrees something has to be done about European and American subsidies. The national farm aid program needs to be fixed. World commodity prices have to go up; input prices have to come down.
Few argue that the provincial government, and Upshall specifically, has influence on these problems.
Cal Michel, of St. Gregor, said he will vote for Upshall to keep working on behalf of farmers, but he passed on a gentle warning.
“I hope the election isn’t the end of it,” he said.
Upshall’s opposition includes Saskatchewan Party candidate Donna Harpauer and Liberal hopeful Ray Hall.
Hall said farmers he has talked to are angry enough that they may vote against the agriculture minister.
“I think Eric is in trouble in this constituency,” he said.
“I know Eric well. We’re friends. But he could be doing a lot more to help the farmers.”
Hall, who operates a local Radio Shack store, said if farmers go down, businesses like his will be in trouble.
Harpauer, who farms with her husband, said she is hearing a lot of sad stories from farmers.
“They are desperate,” she said. “But they’re not sure themselves what the answer is. They just want to see someone at least take a little more interest.”
