SASKATOON — Despite being thrown into the political lion’s den at the federal level for the first time, Liberal candidate Chad Eggerman says he learned a lot during the month-long campaign — an eye-opening experience, even though he lost to incumbent Saskatoon West MP Brad Redekopp in the April 28 federal election. He remains in high spirits and optimistic about the future, hinting he might run again.
"It's all pretty fluid,” Eggerman told Â鶹´«Ã½AV.
With virtually no preparation time during his first campaign, Eggerman embraced the challenges rather than being discouraged, treating the campaign as a crash course in civic engagement and politics. From assembling a ragtag team of volunteers to hearing voter sentiment while knocking on doors, every step became a lesson, and every obstacle a steppingstone toward growth and learning.
“I was nominated when the election was already called. We had no time to prepare anything in particular. I was just dropped into whatever was there. So, we had to put our heads down and work together with the resources we had. In Saskatoon West, our resources were significantly less than those of the NDP and the Conservatives,” Eggerman said.
“We were always the underdog. We've always come third in Saskatoon West. So, we set the bar pretty low. We just wanted to secure more than 10 per cent of the vote, which we thought was quite ambitious at the time.”
Historically, the Liberals have consistently come in third in Saskatoon West, a riding often considered a Conservative stronghold. The NDP’s Sherri Benson broke that streak when she served in Parliament from 2015 to 2019, but lost to Redekopp in her re-election bid.
After the votes were counted — with the Liberals winning a fourth term to form government — Eggerman earned 27.2 per cent of the 37,361 valid votes, or 10,254, compared to Redekopp’s 19,814. Exceeding the campaign goal and reaching nearly 30 per cent was not just a personal victory, but a sign that political tides can shift when people listen, connect and show up with authenticity.
“We had a tiny but mighty team of volunteers. This election seemed to go in with just a blink of an eye, a snap of the fingers. It went by so fast. However, there was a great deal of activity during that time,” said Eggerman.
“I've been a huge fan of Prime Minister Carney for a long time. That was one of the reasons why I decided to run. I read his book Values, and he's an incredible person. He was in Saskatoon twice during the campaign. As Canadians, we're at a unique point; we have an opportunity in places like Saskatchewan to come together.”
He mentioned that Carney emphasized during his final campaign stop in Saskatoon that the Liberals are a party of collaboration and must work even with the official opposition to build a united Canada and quell the boos and hisses from some of their party's supporters.
“That's the kind of strong Canada that we're talking about. We're not talking about an angry, aggressive Canada. We're talking about a Canada that works together. We're in a challenging time in Canada. I had all these conversations at the doorstep,” said Eggerman.
“Talking with people, you learn that some have rigid ideas, and you can't change their views. But here's what I'm optimistic about. There aren't that many people like that. Most people can be persuaded of a different idea that's reasonable, rational and makes sense to them.”
He added that the group of people who are ideologically driven and unlikely to change is just a small fraction of the voting population — but it still exists. Yet he remains optimistic about the future.
“As a lawyer, I always thought you could change anyone's mind, but you can't. There are certain people that you can't convince. When you're in politics, I think you have to identify who those people are and recognize them. But I'm surprised some of the folks, especially Conservative voters, they, I know, voted for me — I did convince them,” Eggerman said, noting that for most Carney and his ideas were the reason to shift their votes.
