Sask. Party catches heat after using Russian filmed stock footage in campaign ad

The Saskatchewan Party is facing criticism for a pre-election campaign ad. It featured video portraying Saskatchewan’s scenery but contained some footage actually filmed in Russia.

The ad opens by accusing the Saskatchewan NDP of “running down Saskatchewan.”

“They called our economy a dumpster fire,” a narrator states.

The ad goes on to call the NDP wrong.

“There’s a lot to be proud of here,” the narrator continues.

The issue with the commercial is that a scene showcasing a family running through a wheat field was actually shot in Russia.

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NDP MLA Aleana Young called the inclusion of the footage “sloppy.”

“This is a beautiful province. There’s a lot of people trying to get work in the film and television industry right now. I know when we shoot ads, we shoot in Saskatchewan towns, with Saskatchewan people,” she said.

“There’s no excuse for this kind of politics or this kind of sloppy mistake.”

Saskatchewan Party Executive Director Patrick Bundrock said the party used stock video from an agency that charges $79 for the rights.

The ad has since been pulled.

“People will visit stock sites and pull footage and we pulled that particular clip,” he explained. “We’ll do a better job in the future making sure we vet our clips and the origin of those clips.”

The NDP caught the gaff by running the video through an online reverse image search.

It’s the type of scrutiny political parties can expect as the province moves toward a fall provincial election campaign.