Pre-election polls suggest that most of the Prairie constituencies will go to the Conservative Party, but one political expert said that Saskatoon West will be hotly contested by the incumbent NDP.
“Nobody should be surprised whether the Conservatives or the NDP win that riding,” said Joe Garcea, a University of Saskatchewan political science professor.
“I think that it depends a lot on the ability of the two parties to actually get people to the polls.”
The incumbent candidate, who is running for re-election, is New Democrat Sheri Benson. She won her first contest in 2015 by more than 2,500 votes and has since served in the high-profile position of co-deputy leader.
The latest polls available before election day showed that Benson and Conservative Party candidate Brad Redekopp were nearly tied for support.
Garcea said that both parties will be trying to attract voters who supported the Liberals in the last election. He said the 2015 Liberal campaign likely drew inflated support because of the momentum behind Justin Trudeau.
He said the constituency will go to the candidate whom voters believe will best address the economy and affordability, mirroring the most prominent issues across the country.
The riding contains the Riversdale, Pleasant Hill and Hampton Village neighbourhoods. The Liberal candidate is Shah Rukh and the Green candidate is Shawn Setyo.