When Saskatchewan plunged into an election, the legislative assembly comprised mainly Saskatchewan Party MLAs but there will be a much higher number of NDP members entering the building when the government begins a new session.
Monday’s election saw the NDP see its biggest gains in the province in more than 15 years.
The counting is still ongoing and the numbers could change, but so far 24 are elected with two leading in their ridings.
“What an incredible journey this has been that we’ve been on together,” NDP Leader Carla Beck said when addressing supporters. “Friends, we came so close. You know, when we started this campaign many people didn’t give us much of a chance, but we believed. And because of the hard work and determination of all of you in this room and right across this province, we gave people a reason to hope again.”
Beck acknowledged the party didn’t win government, but told supporters they “changed the landscape” in the province.
The last time the party saw more than 20 MLAs was in 2007, before it lost power to the Saskatchewan Party and was reduced to just 20 seats. Since then, it’s lost seats, falling to nine in 2011 and only reaching 13 in the last election in 2020, though before dissolution this year it saw one additional MLA elected.
Much of its groundswell of support came from the province’s big cities, with Regina and Saskatoon appearing to go almost completely orange, though at least two in Saskatoon may remain with the government when final counts are done.
Beck added that though it wasn’t the result they wanted, “tonight is not the end,” and said the election showed the public wanted change.
“The close result tonight is a message that the people of Saskatchewan want and deserve a government that puts them first and we are not going to stop until that vision is a reality,” Beck said.
Several NDP MLAs who were re-elected said the results showed a desire for “change.”
“The people have told us they’re ready for change and what we’re seeing in these results here tonight are showing us just exactly that,” Erika Ritchie, the re-elected MLA for Saskatoon Nutana, told Global News.
Those city wins also led to some defeats for the Saskatchewan Party, with five cabinet ministers losing their seats.
While there were celebrations among the NDP for making major breakthroughs in the big cities, political analyst Ken Coates cautioned it was a sign the party, as well as the Saskatchewan Party, still needs some work.
“Neither party has been very successful in breaking out of their base, but the NDP has done a fabulous job of getting into Saskatoon and Regina,” Coates said.