Saskatchewan NDP Leader Lorne Calvert kicked off the provincial election campaign Thursday promising residents that he'd provide a universal prescription drug plan if re-elected.

Under the proposal, no resident would be required to pay more than $15 per prescription for any medication covered under Saskatchewan's drug plan.

Calvert pegged the cost at $149 million annually.

The Opposition Saskatchewan Party, which has criticized a similar cap already in place for seniors, claims the proposal is too expensive.

Calvert defended the idea, saying everyone should benefit from the province's booming economy. He said the costs were well within the budget.

However, Sask. Party Leader Brad Wall unveiled a major spending promise of his own -- a $20,000 tuition rebate to post-secondary students who promise to stay in the province for seven years after graduation.

This means an average undergrad could get all of his or her tuition back if they took full advantage of the program. The money would come as a cheque and could be taxed as income.

Wall said the program would cost $90 million over four years.

The Sask. party's program would replace a $10,000 annual graduate tax credit the NDP introduced. The party would also lift a tuition freeze that the NDP has supported since 2005.

Elections Saskatchewan announced Wednesday that Lt.-Gov. Gordon Barnhart had dissolved the legislature and set Nov. 7 as the date for the vote.

The New Democrats have held a slim 30-28 seat majority over the right-leaning Saskatchewan Party since the last election in 2003. The NDP, which has governed since 1991, has strongholds in the province's urban areas and holds the northern-most ridings.

Wall is expected to be a tough challenge for Calvert. His party is dominant in rural Saskatchewan and established a beachhead in Saskatoon in 2003.

The Sask. party formed in 1997 out of a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservatives, some federal Reform party members and right-wing provincial Liberal party members.

Liberal Leader David Karwacki is also running in the campaign. In 2003, Karwacki came close to winning his Saskatoon seat but failed -- leaving his party shut out. The Liberals did capture about 14 per cent of the vote that year.

With files from The Canadian Press