The future premier of the province spent their Friday lunch hour speed dating with Saskatoon’s business community.

Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Ken Cheveldayoff, Alanna Koch, Scott Moe and Gordon Wyant each pitched their platform hoping to win over business owners and local officials.

The event was hosted by the North Saskatoon Business Association (NSBA), with a one-of-a-kind format, aimed to give their members a quick take on the Saskatchewan Party leadership candidates.

“The intimacy was something people appreciated and the fact that the [next] premier was likely looking them in the face and talking to them directly,” NSBA executive director Keith Moen said.

“It’s critical in what we do as an advocacy and lobbying organization. We have to have the lines of communications open with all levels of government, and certainly our most impact, or breadth if you will, is in municipal and provincial affairs.”

Each candidate had seven minutes to get their point across to five groups; hoping to make a lasting impression and answer some tough questions from their audience.

“I was specifically looking at what are their plans for urban municipalities, specifically Saskatoon,” said DeeAnn Mercier, the executive director of the Broadway Business Improvement District.

“What they are doing for small businesses, what they’re doing around marijuana, and what they’re doing around crime and safety. I was really pleased to hear them talk about that in a very brief amount of time,” Mercier said.

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“It’s important for us as residents of Saskatchewan to hear from every one of of the leadership candidates in terms of their policy platform, how it impacts Saskatchewan, how it positions us as a province on the national and the international landscape,” said Prabha Mitchell, the Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan CEO.

The new leader will be chosen at a leadership convention on Jan. 27 in Saskatoon.