Election day in Saskatchewan

The campaign is over and voters will decide who will lead the province for the next four years.

There are 61 constituencies in Saskatchewan in this election which is three more than there were in 2011. The three new constituencies include: Regina Pasqua, Saskatoon Stonebridge-Dakota, and Saskatoon Willowgrove.

In 2011 the Saskatchewan Party led by Brad Wall swept to victory with a majority government winning 49 out of 58 seats in the Saskatchewan Legislature. The NDP dropped to nine seats after holding on to 20 seats in 2007.

No matter what the result is, there will be some new faces in the legislature next term. A dozen of the  seats are up for grabs as one NDP MLA and 11 Sask. Party MLAs retired.

Bob Bjornerud represented Melville-Saltcoats for the Sask. Party.

Doreen Eagles represented Estevan for the Sask. Party.

Wayne Elhard represented Cypress Hills for the Sask. Party.

Bill Hutchinson represented Regina South for the Sask. Party.

Ken Krawetz represented Canora-Pelly for the Sask. Party

John Nilson represented Regina Lakeview for the NDP.

Rob Norris represented Saskatoon Greystone for the Sask. Party.

June Draude represented Kelvington-Wadena for the Sask. Party.

Don Toth represented Moosomin for the Sask. Party.

Yogi Huyghebaert represented Wood River for the Sask. Party.

Doreen Eagles represented Estevan for the Sask. Party

Russ Marchuk represented Regina Douglas Park for the Sask. Party.

The polls opened at 9 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. Check the results live on our election map when the polls close.

Smooth Sailing at Polling Stations

Voters in Regina and Saskatoon report that everything seems to be running smoothly at polling stations.

People leaving various polling stations in Regina in the morning said workers were organized and voting was quick and easy.

Some people said there wasn’t really a big issue that stood out to them in this election campaign.

“It was a little boring, I think if you weren’t involved in the campaign and you were just an outside observer of it, it seemed pretty dull, there wasn’t a lot of action,” said one woman outside a polling station in Regina, explaining that she is an NDP supporter and got involved in the campaign.

One man disagreed, saying this is the first time he has voted in a provincial election, and he was motivated by the Sask. Party’s change to the graduation retention program.

“I’ve never been motivated to vote before in provincial elections because it doesn’t affect me personally, whereas I think the federal election is much more important, but the Sask. Party kinda made it personal,” he said.

“It was nice, that was the one thing the Wall government did that I actually liked, sort of giving us motivation to stay in the province,” the man explained, noting that he lost out on his taxes this year.

“I was just about at the end of the graduate retention program, so I basically lost $4,000 this year because they changed that program.”

Another man commented that the NDP were poking at the Global Transportation Hub land deal, but from his perspective the government had to pay whatever the conglomerate wanted. He added that education is the most important issue to him in this election, even though he’s not a parent.

“My personal opinion is I don’t care for the P3 model, but I also do know that there are a lot of things that will get built by the P3 model that won’t get built otherwise,” he said.

Elections staff looked like they could help a few more voters at Silverspring School in Saskatoon. Despite a car crashing into a classroom at the school over the weekend, voting stations still opened to the public on time.

Those who cast a ballot before noon enjoyed a quick trip to the polls.

One worker told News Talk Radio things were “very slow,” but they expected more people to file in later on Election Day.

But over at Saskatoon’s St. Bernard School, traffic slowed down in the early afternoon.

Voters at Saskatoon polling stations were motivated by a strong belief in the democratic process.

““If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain,” one Saskatoon woman said. “If we want to keep the programs that we have, social programs, and we want to maintain our democracy then we have a responsibility to get out and vote.”

 “(It’s) everybody’s duty to vote every time,” agreed another man.