It was a long evening that worked itself into Tuesday morning, but the Saskatchewan Party has been re-elected to form their fifth consecutive majority government.
At the time of publication, the Saskatchewan Party is projected to hold a total of 35 seats with the NDP having 26 seats. There are a couple of seats considered too close to call.
Premier Scott Moe delivered a victory speech after the election was called early on Tuesday morning at the Richardson Pioneer Recreation Centre in Shellbrook.
He started off the speech by thanking everyone who ran in the election, regardless of party.
“I want to say thank you as well to all the candidates, from all the parties that ran this election, whether you were successful or not, thank you for putting your name on a ballot.” Moe said. “It’s no small thing to put your name on that ballot, your name on a lawn sign, and put yourself out in the public arena to stand up and say you want to represent your community, you want to represent your neighbours, and you want to represent your friends. I would say to each and every candidate that put their name on a ballot this election, I appreciate the fact that you did that, and I thank you for doing that.”
Moe won his re-election bid in Rosthern-Shellbrook with 5,083 votes. His closest challenger was the NDP’s Mark Thunderchild, who received 1741 votes.
In 2020, the Saskatchewan Party won 48 seats compared to the NDP’s 13. Moe gave credit to Carla Beck for the campaign she ran this year for the NDP.
“I want to say as well that I would say thank you to each of the party leaders for what they have done, not just over the course of the past month, but for the course of their time as a leader.” Moe said. “I want to single out Carla Beck, for the very strong campaign that she ran, and I want to thank, not only her, but thank her family as well. It supports her in the work that she has done each and every day as opposition leader, but also the work that she does as a leader of the NDP party. She ran a strong campaign.”
In other recent provincial elections, incumbent governments were either voted out or won by a slim margin. In BC, John Eby’s NDP government won a total of 47 seats in a close election against the B.C. Conservatives. Manitoba saw Wab Kinew and the NDP form a majority government over the incumbent Manitoba PC Party. Most recently, the New Brunswick Liberal party defeated the incumbent Progressive Conservative Party earlier this month.
Even with the Sask Party maintaining a majority government, Moe says it was clear that some voters in the province who had previously voted for the Sask Party instead cast their ballots for other candidates.
“We saw what had happened in British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Manitoba a short while ago. But we also believe that we had a message and we had a record that we could be proud. We knew that we had an outstanding slate of candidates that would work hard to bring that message and that record to the doorsteps across this province. This was a much closer election than what we have seen in quite some time in this province. over roughly half of the voters voted for the Saskatchewan Party and there’s another half of the voters that voted for someone else. I would say to you that I’ve heard the message that was delivered here this evening.”
“When you look at the results tonight there are many people who voted for the Saskatchewan party in the past but chose not to in this election. We have lost your support whether it be due to management of health care, education or cost of living pressures that we’re feeling in this province and across this nation. All of us in government and it starts with myself, we’re going to take a little bit of time to reflect on the message that was sent here this evening to reflect on what exactly that means.”
In her own speech, NDP leader Carla Beck said she was pleased with the campaign her party ran. Beck congratulated Moe and the Saskatchewan Party on their win, but said returns sent a strong message to the government.
“This election has proven that Saskatchewan wants positive change,” Beck told supporters. “Across this province people are feeling tired of being left behind, seeing the healthcare system crumble, struggling as costs grow faster than their pay cheques.
“The close result tonight is a message that people want and deserve a government that puts them first, and we are not going to stop until that vision is a reality.”
In Prince Albert, the Saskatchewan Party is projected to take both seats with Alanna Ross leading Northcote with 2745 votes. Nicole Rancourt is in second place with 2620 votes, before the counting of mail-in ballots. In Carlton, Kevin Kasun had 3007 votes with Caroyln Brost Strom finishing in second with 2533 votes.
editorial@paherald.sk.ca
