NDP leadership candidate Steve Ashton, who is the MLA for Thompson, is upset with a ruling from the party's executive that delegates to the NDP annual convention in March won't be able to cast a ballot for the leader of their choice unless they are actually in Winnipeg.

Ashton's policy and media director Christopher Sanderson said the ruling means northerners won't get to weigh in on who they think should be the province's next premier.

"Steve is very disappointed by today's ruling, and we understand that northerners are currently working to organize an emergency provincial council meeting to review this decision to ensure that northerners get a say into who will be our next premier," Sanderson said in a statement.

The provincial executive did not return CBC's calls.

Greg Selinger's spokesperson, Suzanne Hrynyk, said she had heard about the ruling but declined to comment because the campaign team had not yet discussed it.

Hrynyk said she had heard Ashton's campaign was working on asking for an emergency meeting to review the ruling.

"Yes that's my understanding as well," she said. "I do know there are individuals who are working on that."

Jodee Mason, who is handling media relations for Theresa Oswald's campaign, emailed the following statement late Saturday in response to CBC's inquiries about the ruling:

"We advised the provincial executive today that we strongly support making the party's annual convention accessible to members from every region of our province. It's important that members have the ability to participate in all parts of the convention, including critical policy debates and the leadership contest."