Summary: Now the sole urban-rural seat in Saskatoon, this riding is one to watch this election.
Boundaries: The riding for southeast Saskatoon, it includes everthing east of the South Saskatchewan River and south of 8th Street East, along with the area around Sidney L. Buckwold Park. It also includes a small amount of farmland immediately to the south and east of the city.
This is essentially the previous urban-rural riding of Blackstrap, stripped of 90 per cent of its rural popluation.
Last Election: Conservative MP Lynne Yelich defeated NDP candidate Darien Moore by 17.6 per cent to win her fifth term in Blackstrap.
However, under the new boundaries, the Conservatives would have only taken this riding by 10.4 per cent over the NDP, and Yelich won’t be running again, after losing a nomination battle to Kevin Waugh, a longtime sports anchor at CTV Saskatoon.
History: From 2000 to 2013, Saskatoon and the surrounding areas had been divided up into four ridings that contained part of Saskatoon, and part of the surrounding rural areas. In all five elections, the Conservatives took all four seats.
The redistribution, which gave Saskatoon three seats to itself, was heavily opposed by the Conservative party.
Demographics: The median income of $35,423 is the fifth highest in the province, but the lowest among Saskatoon’s three ridings. 17.3 per cent of people said they had Ukrainian origins, second highest in Saskatchewan.
Candidates
Conservative: Kevin Waugh, sports anchor for CTV Saskatoon
NDP: Scott Bell, federal lawyer specializing in aboriginal law
Liberal: Tracy Muggli, Director of Mental Health and Addiction Services for Saskatoon Health Region
Green: Mark Bigland-Pritchard, applied physicist