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Some key wins & losses for parties in the 2020 Sask. election

CBC
·4 min read

The 2020 Saskatchewan Election brought some clear winners and losers, even aside from the individual races themselves.

Sask. Party Leader Scott Moe kept his seat in Rosthern-Shellbrook by a wide margin, while NDP Leader Ryan Meili's race is still too close to call.

It was a tough night for the Green Party of Saskatchewan. Meanwhile the Buffalo Party beat out the NDP for second place in some areas.

Here are some of the standout storylines.

Wins: Sask. Party ministers and Buffalo Party

The Sask. Party won a majority government for the fourth term in a row and Premier Scott Moe won his first general election as the leader of the party.

Almost all the Sask. Party Cabinet Ministers were — or are projected to be — re-elected in their respective constituencies.

Confirmed or projected winners include Gordon Wyant, Don Morgan, Donna Harpauer, Jim Reiter, Dustin Duncan, Christine Tell, Jeremy Harrison, Greg Ottenbreit, Ken Cheveldayoff, David Marit, Bronwyn Eyre, Paul Merriman, Gene Makowsky, Warren Kaeding, Joe Hargrave and Lori Carr.

Tina Beaudry-Mellor, who is running for re-election in Regina University, is in a race too close to call at this time.

The Buffalo Party turned some heads in its first election. The party had 17 people running and isn't projected to win any seats. However, it bumped the NDP out of second place in four ridings:

  • Cannington — Sask. Party's Daryl Harrison won with more than 5,500 votes. However, Wes Smith with the Buffalo Party took second place.

  • Cypress Hills — Sask. Party's Doug Steele won, but Buffalo Party candidate Crystal Tiringer took more than 1,350 of the riding's votes, more than half of what the NDP garnered, with mail-in ballots pending.

  • Estevan — Lori Carr won with more than 4,000 votes. The Buffalo Party's Michael Phillip Zajac had more than 1,650 votes, beating the NDP for second.

  • Kindersley — Ken Francis with the Sask. Party won with more than 3,000 votes. The Buffalo Party's Jason R. Cooper took second with more than 1,000 votes, compared to Steven Allen with the NDP who had about 300 votes Monday.

Losses: NDP, replacement candidate and smaller party leaders

NDP Leader Ryan Meili failed in his goal of significantly expanding the NDP seat count in the Legislature. Less than an hour after polls closed, the Sask. Party led or had been elected in 46 of 61 constituencies, according to the CBC News Decision Desk. Thirty-one seats are needed for a majority government.

Meili said his volunteers and fellow candidates ran a great campaign, but that "it wasn't enough this time."

A replacement candidate also didn't have the win they hoped for. In August, the NDP announced they had removed Sandra Morin as their candidate for Regina Walsh Acres. In a statement, the party said Morin was removed as a result of a confidential vetting process.

Morin ran as an independent and is projected to lose by around 2,000 votes. Her NDP replacement, Kelly Hardy, is also projected to lose, trailing by about 700 votes to the Sask. Party incumbent, Derek Meyers, with 1,191 mail-in packages having been requested in the riding.

None of the leaders of the smaller parties in the province were elected to the Legislature. Wade Sira, leader of the Buffalo Party, lost in Martensville-Warman.

Robert Rudachyk, leader of the Sask. Liberal Party, lost in Regina Walsh Acres.

Green Party Leader Naomi Hunter was defeated in her riding of Regina Elphinstone-Centre.

The Green Party did not break into second place in any ridings but is projected to take third in more than a dozen, albeit with less than 10 per cent of the total vote in each riding. The Buffalo Party had fewer candidates running than the Green Party, yet received more votes.

A final loss was for the three people running as independents. Rolf Hartloff ran in Regina Elphinstone-Centre, Sandra Morin ran in Regina Walsh Acres and Nestor Mryglod ran in Regina Wascana Plains.

All three were defeated. The last independent candidate to win a seat in Saskatchewan was Louis Marcien Marion in the constituency of Athabasca in 1948.