Voters in Saskatchewan have voted for members of the Legislative Assembly. It marks the third major provincial election in recent weeks in Canada. Each of them impacted in varying degrees by COVID-19.

Both leaders of the two main parties were entering their first general election in their respective roles. Incumbent Premier Scott Moe took over in 2018 after longtime Premier Brad Wall retired. Opposition Leader Ryan Meili assumed his post the same year. The faces at the top may have changed, but the results were largely the same.

Saskatchewan Party notches landslide victory

The center-right Saskatchewan Party has scored its fourth consecutive general election win. And it's third consecutive of such in a dominating fashion. Its main rival, the center-left New Democratic Party, may still get a boost. This would be from mail-in votes, according to the CBC. But it wouldn't be near enough to bridge the yawning chasm in the votes already counted.

As might be expected, COVID-19 has been a hot topic in the region. So far, at least, Saskatchewan has fared better off in many ways than its fellow Canadian provinces. At the time of the election, Saskatchewan had Canada's lowest unemployment rate. It had to that point also managed to avoid major outbreaks in metropolitan areas like Saskatoon and Regina.

People can hope and pray those optimistic trends to continue. The pandemic, somewhat unusually in 2020, didn't necessarily become a major campaign issue in Saskatchewan, though. According to Chatelaine, neither side was much helped or hurt by it. And both major parties involved observed safety guidelines, making their campaign rallies drive-in events.

It appears that the Saskatchewan Party and the NDP are the only two parties to score seats in the Assembly. While the NDP did well enough for that, their ability to accomplish much in the Legislature seems limited. The parties seem poised to have about a 65%-35% ratio in Assembly seats. However, it can be noted that the NDP fared far better a couple of days before in British Columbia.

Canada's two biggest parties federally are the Liberal Party and what is now the Conservative Party. Neither was much of a factor in the election. And, the provincial level, they haven't really in about a quarter-century. The part with the third-most votes was the separatist Buffalo Party, despite only competing in a fraction of the districts. Separatism in Canada is traditionally associated with Quebec. Ironically, that's tampered down somewhat in recent years. But it's become more prominent in western Canada, especially after the highly-controversial 2019 federal election results. In which, objectively, it showed systemic favoritism toward voters in eastern Canada over those in the west.

Scott Moe set to remain premier

Scott Moe appears to have easily kept his roles as premier and leader of his party. He comes with baggage relating to financial problems and road incidents. Before entering politics, he was twice charged with drunk driving. The second of which, he was also cited with leaving the scene of an accident. In a third incident, non-alcohol-related, authorities determined Moe caused an accident that resulted in a woman's death. Some but not all of this was known to the public during Moe's early political career.

Moe was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in 2011. He represents the District of Rosthern-Shellbrook in central Saskatchewan. Eventually, he became minister of advanced education and the environment under Brad Wall.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED