Regina—Wascana goes blue again

After enjoying a sizable lead in the polls all night, Regina—Wascana incumbent Michael Kram has held the seat for the Conservatives.

Kram won the riding decisively, keeping a steady lead against his Liberal challenger Sean McEachern as the votes were counted. Kram made a special dedication to his former campaign manager after the victory.

“I would like to extend my deepest thanks to my 2019 campaign manager, Colleen Mason, who passed away around this time last year,” Kram said on Monday night.

“Colleen was a political genius who literally wrote the book on campaigning. So wherever you are, I hope you are looking down and smiling on the result here in Regina-Wascana tonight.”

Winning his second victory, Kram is heading back to Ottawa in another Liberal minority government, a disappointing federal result for Kram and his camp.

He says the results show that people are just as frustrated with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as they were in 2019, and didn’t mince words.

“It shows that there is certainly a lot of frustration in Canada over the job that Justin Trudeau has been doing over the last six years,” Kram said.

“If the purpose of the election was to waste five weeks of our lives and make us all $600 million poorer, then I would have to say mission accomplished,” Kram said.

Kram is hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself in two years with another snap election, and that the newly formed government can work together to get Canadians through the pandemic.

Liberal Party candidate Sean McEachern was trying to win back the riding, which prior to 2019 was a Liberal stronghold. Two years ago, current Kram earned a decisive victory over Liberal mainstay Ralph Goodale, a highly popular figure in Regina. Goodale had held the seat in Regina—Wascana for over 25 years.

Kram’s campaign focused on shoring up support from Liberal voters who flipped blue two years ago. Kram said that what he has heard from citizens is that Trudeau is no more popular this time than two years ago.

McEachern, who worked with Goodale for many years as his campaign manager, said, “Voters said they miss the interaction with their M.P. since Kram took over, and want someone who shows up and engages with the people.”

Tom McIntosh, a University of Regina political sciences professor, said: “The votes in past years may have been for Ralph Goodale and not for the Liberal Party, and whether the fact that McEachern used to work for Mr. Goodale rubs off on the voters is unclear. I’m slightly more skeptical of this race being as tight as people seem to think it might be.”

NDP candidate Erin Hidlebaugh campaigned for universal healthcare for all Canadians.

Green Party candidate Victor Lau was running his campaign on a guaranteed livable income.