'Byelections are strange': Political professor says Sask. NDP victory not worth analyzing
The Saskatoon-Meewasin byelection was expected to be a tight race — based on the past election results where the former NDP leader won by a mere five per cent against the Sask. Party.
Instead, it was a quick sweep for NDP’s Nathaniel Teed.
Teed secured 56 per cent of the vote; the Sask. Party trailed behind with 37 per cent.
“Byelections are strange,” Daniel Westlake, a University of Saskatchewan political studies professor, told CTV News.
Westlake said byelections don’t paint a genuine picture of what’s overall happing in the province because there’s typically a lower voter turnout.
But in this case, Westlake said it could be the NDP wanted the win more.
“A theoretical possibility here is that you've got an NDP that's really concerned about losing, and the Sask. Party that’s fairly comfortable. So the NDP makes an effort to get their voters out and the Sask. Party does not produce results like we saw,” Westlake said.
“But it's very hard to predict byelections and it's very hard to draw conclusions from them.”
Premier Scott Moe said he would have liked to see more Sask. Party votes.
“We obviously wanted it to be closer. This is a difficult seat,” he said, standing beside candidate Kim Groff.
The Saskatoon-Meewasin byelection saw significantly fewer people at the polls, with 4,627 ballots counted so far — that’s a drop from the provincial election where 7,221 people voted.
Mail-in ballots still need to be counted on Wednesday and on Oct. 8, according to Elections Saskatchewan.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.