Saskatchewan Election Day: Voters Head to the Polls

A sign is shown outside a voting place for the Saskatchewan general election in Regina, on Oct. 24, 2024. The Canadian Press/Heywood Yu

Saskatchewan residents will cast their votes today to help decide which party will form the next government.

The Saskatchewan Party is looking to secure its fifth-straight majority after 17 years in power, while Carla Beck’s NDP is attempting to take back the reins of government for the first time since 2007.

While the B.C. and New Brunswick incumbent governments were recently punished at the polls, Sask. Party Leader Scott Moe has said he isn’t worried about the election results.

“How we achieve a majority government, which would be 31 seats, is trying to win 61 [seats],” he said at an Oct. 26 rally, adding that the party has “61 dynamic candidates” running across the province.

Support between the two main parties is evenly split. The latest poll results from 338Canada suggests the Sask. Party and the NDP each have a 50-50 shot at winning the most seats.

The Oct. 28 poll indicates the NDP holds 48 percent of the popular vote while the Sask. Party has 47 percent, but the Sask. Party has a slight edge when it comes to seat projection. The poll is predicting the Sask. Party will win 23 to 39 seats while the NDP is expected to nab 22 to 38 seats.

A poll from Angus Reid found the NDP’s support base is largely in urban areas while the Saskatchewan Party remains the party of choice in rural areas.

Five other parties are also running in today’s election. Among them, polling suggests only the Saskatchewan United Party is projected to receive a portion of the popular vote at between 1 and 3 percent, but is not expected to win any seats. The Green Party, Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan, Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan, and Saskatchewan Progress Party are also not expected to win any seats.

At dissolution, the governing Saskatchewan Party had 42 seats, while the Opposition NDP had 14. There were four Independents and one seat was vacant.

Advance polling ended Oct. 26 with a record 273,010 casting their ballots early, according to Elections Saskatchewan.

(L) Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe; (Right) Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck. The Canadian Press/Heywood Yu

Party Platforms

Moe has pledged his government would deliver broad tax relief while continuing to withhold federal carbon pricing payments to Ottawa. He said he would index the income tax rate at the rate of inflation, estimating it would save a family of four approximately $3,400, and a senior couple $3,100 over the next four years.

The Sask. Party leader has also discussed the issue of school change rooms during his campaign. Moe has said his first order of business, if re-elected, would be to ban biological boys from using school change rooms with biological girls.

Moe has promised deficits in the first two years, followed by a surplus in 2027.

Beck has vowed to temporarily halt the gas tax, and eliminate the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and certain grocery items.

She has also pledged to improve health care in the province by increasing staffing levels in surgical rooms and extending operational hours to enable more surgeries to be performed.

The promise also included increased access to diagnostic scans, including MRIs, mammograms, and CT scans.

Beck has said her campaign promises would cost an additional $3.5 billion over four years. She said she plans to balance the budget by the end of her term by cutting what she calls Saskatchewan Party “waste.”

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.