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Saskatchewan Party Secures Fifth Consecutive Majority

The Saskatchewan Party has won a historic fifth consecutive majority government. Premier Scott Moe will return to Regina with a smaller team than his party has grown accustomed to over the past seventeen years.

The Saskatchewan Party won a smaller majority than expected at the beginning of the campaign, finishing the night elected or leading in 35 seats, compared to the Saskatchewan NDP’s 26 seats. Moe was re-elected easily in his home constituency of Rosthern-Shellbrook.

Seven political parties were on the ballot across 61 constituencies. Only the incumbent Saskatchewan Party and NDP were competitive for any of the seats, as the Saskatchewan United Party did come close to winning a seat.

At the time of publication, 99% of the votes had been counted, with the Saskatchewan Party picking up 53% of the overall vote, while the NDP received 39%. The other parties received less than 5% of the vote in total.

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Saskatchewan Party Results: Dominant in rural areas, and significant challenges in large cities

The incumbent Saskatchewan Party lost a number of high-profile government members on Monday night while managing to hold on to some battleground seats.

Key Races and Cabinet Ministers

Many familiar faces from the cabinet table will not be returning to the Legislature in Regina. Laura Ross (Regina Rochdale), Bronwyn Eyre (Saskatoon Stonebridge), Gene Makowsky (Regina University), Paul Merriman (Saskatoon Silverspring), and Christine Tell (Regina Wascana Plains) all lost their seats Monday night, highlighting the Saskatchewan Party’s challenges in Regina and Saskatoon.

Small City Battlegrounds

In smaller cities like The Battlefords, Swift Current, and Yorkton, the Saskatchewan Party performed well, re-electing Jeremy Cockrill, Everett Hindley, and David Chan respectively. In the battlegrounds of Prince Albert and Moose Jaw, the Saskatchewan Party is on track to win all four seats, with Kevin Kasun winning in Prince Albert Carlton, Alana Ross leading in Prince Albert Northcote, and both Tim McLeod and Megan Patterson winning in Moose Jaw by wide margins.

Rural Strongholds

The Saskatchewan Party easily won over twenty rural seats that continue to be strongholds for the party. One riding the party was hoping to hold and lost was Jim Lemaigre in Athabasca, where the NDP won by a large margin.

Saskatoon & Regina

The Saskatchewan Party was swept out of the capital city of Regina, and is on track to lose most of its incumbent seats in Saskatoon. Incumbents Ken Cheveldayoff (Saskatoon Willowgrove) appears to have edged out the NDP’s Alana Wakula, while Saskatoon Westview is too close to call with the Sask. Party’s David Buckingham leading the NDP’s April Chiefcalf by just thirty-one (31) votes, with mail-in ballots still to be counted.

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NDP Results: Orange wave in big cities, while difficulty beyond

The NDP surged in the province’s two major cities last night, making some key pick-ups in battleground races. The party failed to break through into rural Saskatchewan and is on track to miss any seats in both Prince Albert and Moose Jaw.

Orange Wall Regina

The party won big in the capital city, sweeping every seat, knocking off formidable cabinet ministers and electing new MLAs. Sally Housser, formerly of The SKoop Podcast, toppled Gene Makowsky in Regina University, while Joan Pratchler defeated former cabinet minister Laura Ross in Regina Rochdale. Brent Blakley upset former cabinet minister Christine Tell in Regina Wascana Plains.

Saskatoon

The NDP made many pickups in Saskatoon, winning back constituencies once considered ‘safe’ in the past, including Saskatoon Riversdale (Kim Breckner), and making gains in longtime Saskatchewan Party strongholds like Saskatoon Southeast (Brittany Senger) and Saskatoon Chief Mistiwasis (Don McBean).

Small City Battlegrounds

The races were not close in The Battlefords or Yorkton, but tight races in Moose Jaw and Prince Albert forced results to go late into the night. Prince Albert and Moose Jaw seats were held by the Saskatchewan Party, stopping the NDP from expanding outside of the two major centres.

Rural Saskatchewan

The NDP failed to break through in any rural constituencies, although the party did finish second in many ridings whereas the Buffalo Party finished second in 2020.

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Moe reflects on message that was sent, Beck thanks supporters

Multiple cable, YouTube, and social media networks covered the Saskatchewan election. Candidates, surrogates, and pundits covered the election as votes were reported last night. The parties and leaders also had a bit to say, and here is some of that.

Moe speaks to supporters in Shellbrook

Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe was in Shellbrook for election night and spoke to supporters following the result. Moe thanked the voters of Saskatchewan for electing a majority Saskatchewan Party government and thanked NDP leader Carla Beck for running a strong campaign. “The Saskatchewan Party will be a government for all people in this province. Regardless of who you voted for in this election, you wanted what was best.” Moe thanked Saskatchewan Party supporters and said “Saskatchewan’s best days are still ahead.”

He also reached out to the thousands of voters who supported another party, saying, “I’ve heard that message and our team has heard that message, and we will do better, and we will strive to earn back support.” Moe spoke about meeting expectations on health care and education.

Reflecting on the fifth consecutive election victory, saying that a message has been sent to the party, he plans to reflect on that message, and that the message has been received.

Beck speaks to supporters in Regina

NDP leader Carla Beck thanked party supporters in Regina for their hard work and support, saying they have “changed the political landscape” of Saskatchewan. She said, “Tens of thousands of Saskatchewan people have sent you a message that they want better for their province, and we will be there to hold you accountable every step of the way.” Beck continued saying they have “awakened hope in this province and are only going to grow it from here.” Beck led her party to an increase of 13 seats at the end of the night, doubling the size of her caucus.

Beck said it was a joy to travel from corner to corner, meeting with people, and building a better and brighter future. She asked supporters to hold their heads high and keep the faith. “Never forget how incredibly special it is for your neighbours to choose you to represent them,” Moe said he plans on keeping and enacting the promises that were put forward during the campaign.

Both political parties' social media accounts were relatively quiet. The Saskatchewan Party did not post anything, while the NDP posted graphics of winning candidates.

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What Happens Next

The Saskatchewan Party and the NDP each had high expectations for the results last night.

For the Sask. Party and leader Scott Moe, this is the first time that the Saskatchewan Party has lost a significant number of seats in an election. With a drop in popular vote and a seat count at 35, his political future remains unclear; however, he gave no indication in his speech last night that he was thinking about departing anytime soon. On CBC, campaign co-director Donna Harpauer said Moe’s decision to stay on is his to make, and the party won a majority government so he has the confidence of the voters to continue. However, the Saskatchewan Party will have a majority government with little to no representation in the province’s two largest urban centres.

Carla Beck and the NDP were setting expectations high and messaging that they would win the election. Some members may wonder if she is the one who can cross the finish line, while others will say that doubling the size of the caucus and increasing the popular vote is a feat and that the NDP should seek stability in a leader’s office with recent high turnover.

The NDP will return to the legislature with the largest opposition in nearly two decades and has doubled the size of its caucus. The NDP caucus is made up entirely of MLAs from Regina and Saskatoon.

20,417 Vote by Mail Ballots will be counted on Wednesday in the second preliminary count. The final count will take place on November 9 and includes Votes by Mail received October 27-November 7 and hospital and remand ballots. It is anticipated that most of the results will hold.

Moe will now need to create a cabinet, balancing experience, and geographical differences, without representation in Regina and little representation in Saskatoon.

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