Beatty was re-elected in the 2007 general election that defeated the NDP government and sat as Opposition Critic for Women's Issues and Northern Affairs.
She accepted the Liberals' offer and was appointed the party's candidate by leader Stéphane Dion on January 3.
"[2] She said she was initially approached by the federal Liberals in the summer of 2007 but decided to run provincially in hopes that the Lorne Calvert-led Saskatchewan NDP government would be returned to office.
Metis leader Jim Durocher wrote a letter to Dion complaining about his decision to appoint a candidate rather than allow for party members to vote in a nomination meeting.
"[2] National Liberal campaign co-chair David Smith defended Beatty's appointment by saying that Dion had made getting more women into politics a priority, saying that the party is "prepared to bite the bullet to demonstrate that our commitment to increasing our number of women candidates - particularly well-qualified ones - is very real.