Unofficial results in the Lloydminster and Cut Knife-Turtleford ridings place the Sask Party ahead of its competitors, but overall, the party has a reduced majority following the Oct. 28 provincial vote.
Colleen Young in Lloydminster will return for a fourth time as MLA, while newcomer, James Thorsteinson will head to the legislature in Regina after Cut Knife-Turtleford voters signalled their choice for the rancher.
Thorsteinson says he is excited as a first-time candidate and thankful to the people in the riding for electing him. On the campaign trail, he heard people talk about affordability, healthcare, and highway infrastructure. He admits that people have concerns. They are happy with the Sask Party platform, but he knows there is work to do.
Young says she is humbled but happy that the people in the Lloydminster riding are once again putting their trust in her as their MLA. She says the key issues she heard while door-knocking were healthcare, affordability, and education, with arbitration of the teachers’ negotiations scheduled for December. Young also sees there is more work to be done.
After the first preliminary count following the elections, almost 53 per cent of the eligible 829,884 voters cast their ballots.
The Sask Party will return to government for a fifth time but with fewer seats. The opposition NDP is leading in 26 seats, having gone into the election with 14. The Sask Party is leading in 35 ridings down from the 42 they had when the legislature was dissolved.
Also, five prominent Sask Party cabinet ministers were defeated at the polls. Former Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre, along with ministers Christine Tell, Gene Makowsky, Laura Ross and Paul Merriman, who held the health file and the corrections file during the last term.
Elections Saskatchewan will lead a second count of the ballots on Wednesday, Oct. 30 with two seats in Saskatoon still too close to call.
