The 2011 Saskatchewan general election was held on November 7, 2011, to elect 58 members of the
Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan (MLAs). The election was called on October 10 by the
Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan
The lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan () is the representative in Saskatchewan of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada. The lieutenant governor of Sas ...
, on the advice of
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Brad Wall.
Wall's
Saskatchewan Party government was re-elected with an increased majority of 49 seats, the third-largest majority government in the province's history. The opposition
New Democratic Party was cut down to only nine ridings, its worst showing in almost 30 years.
This was the first Saskatchewan provincial vote to use a fixed election date, set on the first Monday of November every four years.
Results
On election night, the incumbent Saskatchewan Party won 84% of the seats in the provincial legislature on the strength of 64% of the popular vote. In the process, they won the third-biggest majority government (in terms of percentage of seats won) in the province's history. The only bigger majorities came in
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
, when the Liberals won 50 out of 55 seats, and 1982, when the Tories won 55 out of 64. The NDP recorded its lowest share of the popular vote since
1938
Events
January
* January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS).
* January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
, when it was known as the Saskatchewan
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party:
*
*
*
*
*
* and social democracy, social-democ ...
. The NDP was reduced to its smallest presence in the legislature since
1982, when the party won the same number of seats in what was then a larger assembly. Opposition leader
Dwain Lingenfelter was unseated.
The Saskatchewan Party maintained their dominance of rural regions, and also broke the NDP's longstanding grip on the province's two largest cities,
Regina and
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
. The
Green Party failed to win any seats – though they ran a full slate of 58 candidates and took third place in the overall popular vote, ahead of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
. The Liberals put most of their resources into getting party leader Ryan Bater elected in the Battlefords, but he finished a distant third. The
Progressive Conservatives made a small gain in popular vote for the second straight election.
, - style="background:#ccc;"
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;", Party
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;", Party leader
!rowspan="2",
Candidates
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center;", Seats
! colspan="3" style="text-align:center;", Popular vote
, - style="background:#ccc;"
!
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
!
Dissol.
!2011
!Change
!#
!%
!Change
, align=left,
Brad Wall
, align="right", 58
, align="right", 38
, align="right", 38
, align="right", 49
, align="right", +11
, align="right", 258,598
, align="right", 64.25
, align="right", +13.33
, align=left,
New Democratic
, align=left,
Dwain Lingenfelter
, align="right", 58
, align="right", 20
, align="right", 20
, align="right", 9
, align="right", -11
, align="right", 128,673
, align="right", 31.97
, align="right", -5.27
, align=left,
Victor Lau
, align="right", 58
, align="right", 0
, align="right", 0
, align="right", 0
, align="right", –
, align="right", 11,561
, align="right", 2.87
, align="right", +0.86
, align=left,
Liberal
, align=left, Ryan Bater
, align="right", 9
, align="right", 0
, align="right", 0
, align="right", 0
, align="right", –
, align="right", 2,237
, align="right", 0.56
, align="right", -8.84
, align=left,
Progressive Conservative
, align=left,
Rick Swenson
, align="right", 5
, align="right", 0
, align="right", 0
, align="right", 0
, align="right", –
, align="right", 1,315
, align="right", 0.33
, align="right", +0.15
, align=left,
Dana Arnason
, align="right", 2
, align="right", 0
, align="right", 0
, align="right", 0
, align="right", –
, align="right", 58
, align="right", 0.01
, align="right", -0.12
, colspan="2" style="text-align:left;",
Independent
, align="right", 1
, align="right", 0
, align="right", 0
, align="right", 0
, align="right", –
, align="right", 44
, align="right", 0.01
, align="right",
, -
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="3", Total
, style="text-align:right;", 191
, style="text-align:right;", 58
, style="text-align:right;", 58
, style="text-align:right;", 58
, style="text-align:right;",
, style="text-align:right;", 402,486
, style="text-align:right;", 100.00
, style="text-align:right;",
Percentages
Ranking
Results by region
The Saskatchewan Party maintained their sweep of the southern and central rural ridings. The Saskatchewan Party succeeded in unseating New Democrats in all of the smaller cities – including
Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...
,
The Battlefords, and
Prince Albert. The Saskatchewan Party also won eight of the 12 ridings in Saskatoon, marking the first time since the 1982 PC landslide that a
centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
party had won the most seats in that city. This didn't come as a surprise, since Saskatoon has traditionally been friendly to centre-right parties and candidates. However – and perhaps most surprisingly – the Saskatchewan Party also took eight out of 11 ridings in Regina, in part due to picking up local support from the largely absent Liberal Party. As was the case in Saskatoon, this was the first time a centre-right party had won the most seats there since 1982.
The New Democratic Party maintained their hold on the
two northernmost ridings in Saskatchewan, in addition to three seats in the provincial capital and four constituencies in Saskatoon. The NDP recorded the lowest share of the popular vote since 1938 (when it was known as the CCF). However, compared to its result in 1982, NDP support in 2011 was more concentrated in the North and the inner cities of Regina and Saskatoon, a factor which allowed the party to equal its 1982-seat tally (and indeed exceed it in terms of proportion of seats). Also, for the first time in history, a Saskatchewan NDP leader lost his own seat, with
Dwain Lingenfelter losing by a shocking 10-percentage-point margin in
Regina Douglas Park to a Saskatchewan Party challenger.
Timeline
2007
*November 21, 2007 –
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Brad Wall &
Cabinet Ministers are sworn in.
2008
*January 3, 2008 –
NDP MLA Joan Beatty announces she will resign her seat in
Cumberland to enter federal politics.
*June 25, 2008 –
Doyle Vermette holds the seat of
Cumberland for the
New Democrats.
*October 16, 2008 –
NDP Leader
Lorne Calvert announces he will retire from politics as soon as his successor is chosen.
2009
*May 29, 2009 –
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Brad Wall shuffles his
Cabinet.
*June 6, 2009 –
Dwain Lingenfelter is elected Leader of the
Saskatchewan NDP over
Ryan Meili on the second ballot.
*June 30, 2009 –
NDP MLA Harry Van Mulligen resigns his seat in
Regina Douglas Park, officially retiring from politics.
Lorne Calvert resigns his seat in
Saskatoon Riversdale the same day.
*September 21, 2009 –
Dwain Lingenfelter &
Danielle Chartier hold the constituencies of
Regina Douglas Park &
Saskatoon Riversdale, respectively, for the
NDP.
*October 21, 2009 –
Dwain Lingenfelter is sworn in as
Leader of the Official Opposition.
2010
*January 29, 2010 –
NDP MLA Kim Trew announces that he will not be running in the next election.
*April 16, 2010 –
Saskatchewan Party MLA Serge LeClerc resigns from the caucus to sit as an Independent MLA. On April 20, he announces that he will not be running in the next election.
*May 13, 2010 –
NDP MLA Ron Harper announces that he will retire at the end of his term.
["Regina Northeast MLA Ron Harper to retire", https://leaderpost.com/news/Regina+Northeast+Harper+retire/3020405/story.html : Regina Leader-Post, May 13, 2010.]
*June 2, 2010 –
Saskatchewan Party MLA Joceline Schriemer announces that she will not run for re-election.
["Saskatoon Sutherland MLA Joceline Schriemer not seeking re-election", http://www.skcaucus.com/schriemer.html: June 2, 2010.]
*June 23, 2010 –
Finance Minister Rod Gantefoer announces that he will retire at the next election.
["ROD GANTEFOER WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2011", http://www.skcaucus.com/newsroom.html?news_action=details&news_id=6588B2C9-AE4C-83E9-29E6FC75C1A47A36: June 23, 2010.]
*June 29, 2010 –
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Brad Wall shuffles his
Cabinet.
*August 31, 2010 –
Independent MLA Serge LeClerc resigns his seat in the Legislature, leaving politics.
*October 18, 2010 –
Gordon Wyant of the
Saskatchewan Party wins the seat of
Saskatoon Northwest in a byelection.
2011
*January 11, 2011 –
NDP MLA Pat Atkinson announces that she will retire at the next provincial election.
["MLA Pat Atkinson retires", http://www.globalsaskatoon.com/entertainment/Atkinson+retires/4092391/story.html : GlobalSaskatoon.com, January 12, 2011.]
*March 5, 2011 –
Saskatchewan Party MLA Denis Allchurch loses his party's nomination for
Rosthern-Shellbrook to
Scott Moe.
*September 6, 2011 – Larissa Shasko abruptly resigns from the leadership of the
Green Party of Saskatchewan; Shasko also gives up her candidacy for the Greens in
Moose Jaw North.
Federal
Green Party of Canada leader
Elizabeth May announces (via Twitter) that veteran provincial party activist
Victor Lau will temporarily lead the Saskatchewan Greens.
*September 25, 2011 – Lau elected leader of the
Green Party at an
extraordinary convention in Regina.
*October 10, 2011 – Premier Brad Wall asks
Lieutenant Governor Gordon Barnhart to dissolve the
Legislative Assembly and issue
writs of election.
*October 22, 2011 – Nominations close with 191 candidates running in 58 electoral districts.
Incumbents not contesting their seats
Retiring incumbents
Opinion polls
Riding-by-riding results
People in bold represent cabinet ministers and the speaker. ''Party leaders'' are ''italicized''. The symbols ** indicates MLAs who did not run again.
All results are preliminary until approved by Elections Saskatchewan.
Northwest Saskatchewan
Northeast Saskatchewan
West Central Saskatchewan
Southwest Saskatchewan
Southeast Saskatchewan
Saskatoon
Regina
Marginal seats
The following is a list of ridings which had narrowly been lost by the indicated party in the
2007 election. The symbol "
* " indicates the incumbent MLA is not running again.
Political parties
Saskatchewan PartySaskatchewan NDPGreen Party of SaskatchewanSaskatchewan Liberal PartyProgressive Conservative Party of SaskatchewanWestern Independence Party of Saskatchewan
External links
Election Almanac - Saskatchewan Provincial Election 2011Elections Saskatchewan - Nominated Candidates for the November 7, 2011 General ElectionSaskatchewan Party Candidate listElections Saskatchewan - Official Results of the 2011 Provincial Election
References
{{Authority control
Saskatchewan general election
Elections in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan general election
Saskatchewan general election