It was closer than in the past, but the Saskatchewan Party has won its fifth consecutive majority government.
Preliminary results show the Scott Moe-led party leading in 35 ridings, with the surging New Democratic Party nearly doubling its seat count, holding the lead in 26 mostly-urban constituencies.
Results in up to seven of those ridings are considered too close to call a winner. The final seat numbers could be known later this week — just over 20 thousand mail-in ballots from across the province are to be counted on Wednesday.
With voter turnout of around 53 per cent, the Saskatchewan Party has received approximately 53 per cent of the popular vote, with the NDP, led by Carla Beck, at 39.5 per cent.
The Saskatchewan Party’s lead in the popular vote is larger than projected by several polls released over the past week, which showed the NDP having surged ahead or neck-and-neck with the incumbent party.
At the same time, the seat count in the provincial legislature will be much closer than in the past. Prior to the election, the Sask. Party held 42 seats with the NDP holding only 14.
The urban-rural divide in Saskatchewan’s government has also been amplified, as the Sask. Party is elected or leading in only two seats in Saskatoon and none in Regina, with the rest coming from the smaller cities and rural ridings. The NDP is elected or leading in 24 of the 26 seats in Saskatoon and Regina, and two ridings in the North.
Agriculture Minister David Marit was re-elected in his riding of Wood River, but it’s unclear whether Marit will remain in the agriculture portfolio as Moe will have a smaller number of candidates to choose from for key cabinet posts. At least five cabinet ministers appear to have lost their seats to NDP challengers in Saskatoon and Regina ridings.
Related: Parties jockey for political positions ahead of Saskatchewan’s election day
