Summary: Comprising most of southwest Saskatchewan, Conservative MP David Anderson seeks a sixth term in Cypress Hills-Grasslands.
Boundaries: Broadly speaking, the riding comprises most areas in Saskatchewan west of Moose Jaw and south of Rosetown. Swift Current is the riding’s largest population centre.
Last Election: Anderson defeated NDP candidate Trevor Peterson by 48.6 per cent. Anderson received 69.8 per cent of the vote; he has gotten over 60 per cent in all five of his wins.
History: The riding has gone to the Conservative Party or the Reform/Canadian Alliance in all six elections it has been contested, always by wide margins of victory. Historically, the last time a Liberal or NDP candidate won in a riding centred around Swift Current was 1957, when Liberal MP Irvin Studer won a second term in Swift Current-Maple Creek.
Demographics: The 2011 population was 67,835, the lowest of Saskatchewan’s 14 ridings and the least populated in Western Canada. Just 8.9 per cent of people are seniors, the second lowest number in the province—but the median age of 45.1 is second highest in the province.
Candidates
Conservative: David Anderson, MP since 2000
NDP: Trevor Peterson, high school teacher
Liberal: Marvin Wiens, past president of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool
Green: Bill Caton, cattle rancher and the party’s 2011 candidate