Saskatchewan residents may know who will form the next government, but voters in Prince Albert Northcote will have to wait at least one more day to know who will represent them in the legislature.
As of press time on Tuesday, incumbent Saskatchewan Party candidate Alana Ross had a 125 vote lead over former MLA Nicole Rancourt with all 14 polls reporting. However, poll workers have yet to count mail-in ballots, the first batch of which will be tallied on Wednesday.
Ross said every Northcote election she’s been involved in has been close, so she’s not surprised to see it happen again.
“It is very diverse. I’ve always said that every time I talk about Northcote,” Ross said on Tuesday. “(We have) wonderful people and a very diverse constituency. We have the entire range of economic incomes, we have a diverse population for ethnicity, we have a lot of our social housing that is in this constituency, … we have some business people, and I think the results reflect that because people don’t always agree with what they’re looking for in a government.”
Ross said she’s confident in the campaign she ran, but wasn’t ready to declare victory until mail-in votes were counted.
“Our supporters were positive,” she said when asked about the campaign. “It was positive at the doors. Really, it wasn’t that different from any other campaign I’ve run here in Northcote.”
Ross’s main challenger, former Northcote MLA Nicole Rancourt, also said she’s waiting for mail-in votes to be counted. Like Ross, she was confident the campaign she ran was good enough to win the election.
“I think our campaign was great. I had a great campaign team. We had some new members and experienced members, a variety of people,” Rancourt said. “Talking to people at the doorstep, they felt like they could resonate with our platform, so it really did feel like a positive campaign.”
The final tally won’t have an impact on who forms government. The Saskatchewan Party was elected or leading in 35 constituencies as of press time, four more than needed to form a majority.
When asked about the provincial result, Ross echoed Premier Scott Moe’s comments from Monday.
“We’re very pleased to have the majority, but what he (Moe) has said is it’s definitely a time for reflection,” Ross said. “What we’ve seen is the rural/urban split, so it’s a time for reflection and to be able to talk to people and see what we need to do to become united again.”
While they didn’t form government, the NDP did significantly increase their seat total from 13 in 2020 to 26 in 2024, as of press time. Rancourt said it’s exciting to see the NDP make major strides.
“It’s probably the biggest gain that we’ve had for two decades, and I hope it really does send the Sask. Party a clear message that a lot of people in Saskatchewan are not happy with some of the decisions that they’re making,” Rancourt said.
“I know a lot of people in the province are not happy with the fact that education is underfunded, healthcare is underfunded, and I’m hoping that this message will make the Sask. Party reconsider some of their decisions,” she added.
Saskatchewan United Party Candidate Terri Davis finished third with 294 votes, while Green Party candidate Jarren Jones finished fourth with 99 votes.
