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Sask Party wins majority government, final election tally waiting on mail-in ballots

The Saskatchewan Party will be returning as a majority government for its fourth term, following election night results
moe joint use school
Premier Scott Moe addresses delegates gathered at the official location of Moose Jaw’s future joint-use school on South Hill earlier in his campaign this fall. (photo by Larissa Kurz)

After a week of advanced voting and several weeks of election campaigning, Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party confirmed its fourth consecutive win as a majority government in the province after polls closed on Oct. 26.

Following the closing of election day polls at 8 p.m., the Saskatchewan Party quickly emerged as the frontrunner as polls began reporting ballot results, eventually emerging with a total of 50 leading seats out of 61and 62.9 per cent of votes after all ballot boxes finished reporting.

The NDP secured 11 leading seats and 29.1 per cent of the vote, an increase from the 10 seats the party held prior to entering the election and flipping at least one seat away from the Sask Party.

There are currently a handful of seats that remain undeclared, with numbers too close to determine a clear winner until mail-in ballots are tallied later this week.

Moe once again won his hometown seat of Rosthern—Shellbrook. NDP leader Ryan Meili is seeing more contention for his seat in Saskatoon Meewasin, contested so closely by Sask Party candidate Rylund Hunter that the winner will have to be determined by mail-in ballots during the second preliminary count.

“For the fourth time you have placed your trust with the Saskatchewan Party and you have given us a great responsibility, and we take that responsibility very seriously. We are humbled by the task that lies before us, and we are ready to go to work on your behalf,” said Moe, during a live video address on election night. 

Moe continued on to thank elections workers, campaign volunteers, voters and all the candidates who put their names forward this year.

“Our province and our democracy are well-served by a vigorous exchange of ideas and by everyone who is willing to volunteer their time to advance those ideas to Saskatchewan voters,” said Moe. “Congratulations to all the successful candidates. . . I am so glad to have so many of my colleagues join me back in the Legislature and I look forward to working with the new Saskatchewan Party MLAs who were elected for the first time this evening.”

The remaining four parties trailed significantly behind the two frontrunners, with the Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan receiving just over three per cent of total votes, the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan with two per cent, the Saskatchewan Liberal Association at less than one per cent, and the Saskatchewan Green Party with just over two per cent.

In Moose Jaw, both constituencies saw an interesting race between Sask Party and NDP candidates.

For Moose Jaw North, Sask Party candidate Tim McLeod secured an overwhelming win over NDP candidate Kyle Lichtenwald in a riding that has been a Sask Party stronghold since 2007, with Green Party candidate North Hunter behind both.

On the other side of the city, Moose Jaw Wakamow entered Election Day with a closely contested race between Sask Party incumbent Greg Lawrence and NDP candidate Melissa Patterson. 

After all ballot boxes had reported, Lawrence confirmed a large enough lead on Patterson to secure his seat for another year. Fellow candidates Darcy Jensen with the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan and Abby Firlotte with the Green Party trailed significantly behind the two frontrunners.

The election is a historic one, as Elections Saskatchewan reported that a record of over 61,000 residents applied to receive a mail-in ballot this year, compared to just over 4,000 last year. 

In Moose Jaw North, 951 mail-in ballots were issued, while 778 were issued in Moose Jaw Wakamow. Elections workers will begin to count mail-in ballots on Oct. 28 during the second preliminary count, and then again for the final count beginning on Nov. 7.

Elections Saskatchewan also shared that 185,061 votes were cast during the advanced polls this year, a significant increase from the turnout at the previous election. There was well over 820,000 eligible voters registered in the province, with a 47 per cent voter turnout rate.

The final totals across the province will be shared in the coming weeks, said Elections Sask, with mail-in ballots to be processed in order of the constituencies with the closest ties and potential seat flips.

For a look at the full election results, be sure to visit results.elections.sk.ca/.

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