A third straight term for the Saskatchewan Party following Monday’s provincial election cannot come as a surprise to anyone.
There was never much doubt about the results. Premier Brad Wall has consistently been the most popular Premier in Canada in recent years, and that personal popularity coupled with a generally vibrant world economy which was reflected provincially through most of the last eight years in power, the vote was more coronation than surprise.
Locally, Greg Ottenbreit captured the Yorkton riding with 4,707 votes.
Greg Olson of the NDP finished a distant second with 1,454 votes. Aaron Sinclair of the Liberals captured 188 votes with Green Party candidate Chad Gregoire a distant fourth with 121 votes.
Ottenbreit said Monday’s results were not that unexpected.
In 2011, 10,961 votes were cast In Yorkton. Ottenbreit won the riding with 5446 votes, and 72.45 per cent of the votes cast.
Chad Blenkin was the NDP candidate with 1932 votes, while Kathryn McDonald represented the Green Party earning 139.
This time around, with three new ridings up for grabs, the Saskatchewan Party won 51 seats with 63 per cent of the vote, and the NDP with 10 and 29 per cent of the overall vote, virtually the same split as four years earlier.
Clearly the concept which launched the Saskatchewan Party in 1997 worked.
Members of the Progressive Conservatives, Liberals and the Reform Party came together with a willingness to give up elements of their own party ideals to create a collaborative party on the right to defeat what had been a long term strangle hold the NDP had on government in Saskatchewan.
The surprise that has transpired over the past three elections is how completely dominant the Saskatchewan Party has been.
It is understandable the first term, back in 2007, was a landslide in the sense the NDP had held power for years, and the mood for change was obvious.
The vibrant world economy and no major fumbles and reelection in 2011 was anticipated, a scenario that repeated Monday albeit with a slower economy on the horizon.
Through that time the NDP has floundered. They went from Lorne Calvert as leader to an election run by Dwain Lingenfelter, leader for less than three years, and now Cam Broten who lost his own seat Monday.
The voter interest in a party which began as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation has waned to abysmal levels.
The party held majority governments from 1944 through 1964 under Tommy Douglas, from 1971 through to 1982 under Allan Blakney, and 1991 to 2007 under Roy Romanow for three terms and Lorne Calvert for one. That is a proud history, with much of what makes this province what it is coming under their watch, partisan politics aside.
But history is just that.
Today we are left with a decimated Opposition, and long term that is never ideal for a democracy. We need a voice to keep any government on track, and the remnants of the NDP will have a hard time doing that with but 10 voices.
Granted that is one more seat than four years ago, but therein lies the issue, the party has failed to find a way to make the NDP relevant with voters via a platform that resonates with the needs of the current Saskatchewan.
How the NDP moves forward from here will be one of biggest questions to be answered over the next four years.
