Saskatchewan Party wins third majority term by a wide margin

he Saskatchewan provincial election was another triumph for the Saskatchewan Party led by premier Brad Wall. The party won a third majority in a row.

The Saskatchewan Party won a whopping 51 of the 61 seats in the Saskatchewan legislature. Cam Broten, the leader of the opposition New Democratic Party, lost in his own constituency. The race in a Saskatoon constituency was close with the Saskatchewan Party candidate winning by only 232 votes. David Buckingham won with 49.2 percent of the vote while Broten had 46.3 percent.

The Saskatchewan Party captured just under 63 per cent of the vote and prevailed in 51 of the province's 61 constituencies. The NDP managed just half of that at over 30 per cent of the vote. It won 10 seats, just one more than the last election. However, there were only 59 seats then.

The results were not much different from the 2011 election that was disastrous for the NDP. The Saskatchewan Party won 64 percent of the vote while the NDP had 32 percent. Of the 61 seats only three seats changed parties. The NDP picked up Prince Albert Northcote, and Regina Douglas Park but lost the Sasaktoon seat of Saskatoon Westview, the NDP leader Cam Broten's constituency. Polls had all along indicated that the Saskatchewan Party would win and they were correct. The Saskatchewan Party win seemed inevitable.

The Saskatchewan Party did drop somewhat as the urban rural divide intensified marginally. The vote for the party dropped three points in Saskatoon and over 6 points in Regina. The party still won 56 percent of the vote in Saskatoon, and 49 percent in Regina, the capital. The NDP was not up that much, only one point in Saskatoon and two in Regina. The Liberal party was up 4 percent in Saskatoon and 5 percent in Regina, robbing the NDP of badly needed votes. The increased Liberal vote probably resulted in Broten losing his Saskatoon seat. The rural vote of the Saskatchewan Party increased from 71 to 72 percent with the NDP getting only 20 percent of the rural vote.

This election gave the NDP the lowest share of the popular vote they have ever had. This is the third election in a row that their share of the vote has declined, the first time this has happened since the party was formed. The results for the NDP is surprising given that Saskatchewan is now beginning to suffer from a decline in oil prices. Brad Wall will not need to worry about anyone challenging his leadership! However, Cam Broten is likely to see a challenge to his leadership unless he resigns soon.

Saskatchewan Party likely to win a majority in Saskatchewan election

Regina - When the Saskatchewan Legislature was dissolved on March 8, the Saskatchewan Party polled 53.5 percent of the vote, while the opposition New Democratic Party(NDP) had 34.5 percent.

The election began with the Saskatchewan Party led by Premier Brad Wall having a commanding lead over the NDP. Often during a campaign, a lead this large will shrink. This time the opposite is happening. As of April the 1st the poll averages were: Saskatchewan Party 59.9 percent; NDP, 30.7 percent. The Green Party and Liberals both have 4.3 percent of the vote. The margin between the Saskatchewan Party and the NDP has increased from 19 points to over 29. Unless the April 1st averages were an April Fool prank , the outlook for the NDP tomorrow does not seem rosy.

The seat projections as of April 1st are not encouraging. The average number of seats the Saskatchewan Party is predicted to get is 49 with the NDP only getting 12. No other party will win a seat. If these projections are anywhere near correct, the Saskatchewan Party is headed for a third majority government. In Saskatoon and the rural parts of the province the gap between the Saskatchewan Party is little changed: "The NDP trails by about 19 points in Saskatoon and 40 points outside of the urban centres. In 2011, that gap was 20 and 43 points, respectively." The NDP is shrinking the gap in Regina with the NDP at 42 percent and the Saskatchewan Party at 49. This is a 7 point drop for the Saskatchewan Party. The NDP could pick up 2 or 3 seats but this will not change the situation much province-wide. Pollsters have been wrong in the past however as in Alberta but the situation is rather different here with the incumbents leading in the first place.

The Regina Leader Post has an article that describes some of the problems in the NDP campaign:.. it lost four candidates in the first week because it didn’t vet their social media accounts; it lost its own campaign manager, ensuring an image of a campaign in shambles; it missed opportunities like capitalizing on the two homeless men bused by the government to B.C., and; it presented a platform that gave the Saskatchewan Party reason to raise legitimate concerns about its cost.Leader of the NDP, Cam Broten does not seem to have gained much support whereas Brad Wall has been a popular premier. However, the NDP only won 9 seats in the last election so he may better that. Perhaps by next election the deteriorating economic conditions in Saskatchewan will give the NDP a better chance of winning.

Global News lists some of the main promises of the two parties. The Saskatchewan Party has six new platform promises that total only $105 million over 4 years. The costliest is $70 million on highway repairs. The Saskatchewan Party would also sell off 40 of the 75 government-owned liquor stores. The most expensive NDP promise is $106 million over 4 years for health-care workers. This would include 400 new workers for care homes. The NDP would hire 300 more educational assistants and an equal number of teachers. The NDP would sell off two government airplanes and convert a third to an air ambulance.