The province stayed green with some areas in the major cities and the northern ridings going orange.

Scott Moe is taking charge of the legislature once again, with the Saskatchewan Party getting a majority government win for the fourth time in a row. Moe gave his victory speech on election night at 9:40 p.m and thanked everyone. He took a deep breath in to say before saying: “I am feeling pretty good tonight.” 

“Last week we had a couple of big, honking rallies for a stronger Saskatchewan, and tonight we are celebrating a big, honking election win,” Moe said.

He then thanked all the candidates who ran for a seat, those who volunteered for the elections and the province of Saskatchewan overall. Moe went on to congratulate his elected colleagues.

“I am so very glad to have so many of my colleagues joining me back in the legislature,” Moe said. “I look forward to working with the new Saskatchewan Party MLAs that were elected for the first time here this evening.”

Moe says that there are still some Sask. Party candidates waiting for their riding’s results because Elections Saskatchewan will start counting mail-in ballots on Oct. 28.

“It’s nerve-wracking waiting for just a few hours for those results and I can’t imagine what it’s like waiting for a couple of days,” Moe said. “But I guess that is the way … it’s going to work in this year’s unusual circumstances.”

Sask. Party so far has  50 seats while Ryan Meili’s Saskatchewan New Democratic Party has 11 seats. However, the official size of Moe’s government is still to be determined due to the mail-in ballots.

There are eight ridings without an elected minister of the legislative assembly. In Saskatoon, these ridings are Eastview, Meewasin, Riversdale and University. The other ridings are Prince Albert Northcote, Regina Coronation Park, Regina Pasqua and Regina University.

Meili’s riding, Saskatoon-Meewasin, has the closest margin between him and Sask. Party opponent Rylund Hunter who is leading by 83 votes. Elections Saskatchewan issued 1,656 mail-in ballots for this riding, although it is not clear how many were sent in. Regardless, there is a chance that Meili could still win the seat.

As for vote shares before the mail-in-ballots, Sask. Party led with 63 per cent while Sask. NDP had 29 per cent. Among the province’s four other parties, the Buffalo Party had the highest share with 2.87 per cent, the Greens got 2.36 per cent and the Progressive Conservatives, two per cent. The Saskatchewan Liberal Party had the lowest vote share with less than 0.1 per cent.

With the mail-in ballots, the remaining ridings will be finalized in the next few days. Whatever the outcome, Sask. Party has already secured a majority government. 

During his celebratory remarks, Moe said that the ballot question for this election was “Who do you trust to lead Saskatchewan’s economic recovery?”

“This evening we got the answer, and we got the answer loud and clear,” Moe said. “It is a great honour, and it is a tremendous responsibility to know that Saskatchewan voters answered that question by saying ‘We trust the Saskatchewan Party.’”

Moe ended his speech by thanking everyone for the trust that Saskathewan residents have put on them.

“We will work each and every day to ensure that we are worthy of that trust,” Moe said. “To be worthy of the honour of governing the great province of Saskatchewan.”

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J.C. Balicanta Narag | Editor-in-Chief