
Saskatchewan Tories cement their ridings at home, but face a changed House in Ottawa
Despite easily winning their seats, Saskatchewan’s Conservative incumbents will return to a reshaped Ottawa following a national shift towards the Liberals.
Daniel Westlake, a political science professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said while a win was attainable for the Tories, the lead they held in polling three months ago wasn’t exactly secure. Progressive voters aligned on Liberal candidates, pulling votes from NDP candidates and generating enough support to form a minority government.
Several Conservative MP’s shared their disappointment in the aftermath of Monday’s results. Prince Albert MP Randy Hoback, who has held his seat since 2008, said last night was an ‘emotional’ one — noting some familiar faces in caucus won’t be returning.
“I think there’s going to have to be some careful soul-searching there,” Westlake said. “They had voters that really hadn’t voted Conservative in years, perhaps even decades. So, it wouldn’t have taken a lot to shift those voters away from the Conservative Party.”