The results from the Student Vote mock election are in, and it seems that students across Saskatchewan hold almost the same opinions as the 800,000 registered voters within the province.
Nearly 25,000 students from 300 schools in all of the constituencies in the province cast their votes in a mock election on Oct. 22-23, just ahead of Election Day on Oct. 26.
The results shared after official polls closed on Monday showed that Saskatchewan students, like registered voters, re-elected Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party as a majority government, with Ryan Meili and the New Democrat Party as the official opposition.
The Sask Party took 36 of 61 seats and 45 per cent in the mock vote, quite a few seats less than the 50 seats and 62 per cent the incumbent party took in reality. The NDP received 25 seats and 35 per cent of the mock vote, far more than the 11 seats and 29 per cent they settled with after election night.
Both Meili and Moe retained their own seats in the mock election, in Saskatoon Meewasin and Rosthern—Shellbrook respectively, while the official election saw Moe secure his seat and Meili left unsure until mail-in ballots can be confirmed.
The Green Party received 12 per cent of the mock vote but did not win any seats, much better than the two per cent and no seats the party received in the actual election results.
Twelve schools in Moose Jaw took part in the mock election, with 1,093 ballots cast overall, voting for the constituency in which they were located.
The majority of participating schools in Moose Jaw North showed strong support for the Sask Party — including Palliser Heights Elementary, St. Michael School, Sunningdale Elementary, École Ducharme, A.E. Peacock Collegiate and École St. Margaret. King George and St. Agnes voted for the NDP with a slim majority, while students at Vanier Collegiate were split equally between the two frontrunner parties.
Just like the real election results, Tim McLeod took the seat in Moose Jaw North for the Sask Party, with a good margin over the NDP and 407 votes from the schools located in the constituency.
In Moose Jaw Wakamow, Westmount Elementary, Prince Arthur Community School, École Ducharme and St. Mary School voted mostly for the NDP, with École Ducharme and St. Mary showing the most support for the Green Party overall.
Much like the real election, the race between Sask. Party incumbant Greg Lawrence and NDP candidate Melissa Patterson in the mock election was very tight.
But unlike the real election’s results, Patterson flipped the seat in Moose Jaw Wakamow for the NDP in the mock vote, receiving 114 votes over the 107 cast for Lawrence by students.
The Student Vote program is run by the non-profit organization CIVIX with the aid of the federal government, with the goal of introducing young future voters to the workings of democracy and voter responsibility in order to strengthen the future system.
To view more detailed results from the 2020 Student Vote mock election in Saskatchewan, visit studentvote.ca/sk2020.
