Saskatchewan general election, 2003

Saskatchewan general election, 2003

November 5, 2003 (2003-11-05)

58 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan 30 seats needed for a majority   First party Second party Third party   SK LIB Leader Lorne Calvert Elwin Hermanson David Karwacki Party New Democratic Saskatchewan Liberal Leader since January 27, 2001 April 20, 1998 October 27, 2001 Leader's seat Saskatoon Riversdale Rosetown-Elrose Ran in Saskatoon Meewasin (lost) Last election 29 25 4 Seats before 28 26 1 Seats won 30 28 0 Seat change 2 2 1 Popular vote 190,923 168,144 60,601 Percentage 44.68% 39.35% 14.18% Swing 5.95pp 0.26% 5.97pp

Premier before election Lorne Calvert New Democratic Premier-designate Lorne Calvert New Democratic

Seating Plan After the Election

The Saskatchewan general election of 2003 was the twenty-fifth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on November 5, 2003, to elect the 58 members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan (MLAs). The election was called on October 8 by Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan Lynda Haverstock, on the advice of Premier Lorne Calvert.

Campaign

Going into the election, the popularity of the New Democratic Party of Saskatchewan (NDP) had declined because of controversy on a number of issues. Voters in this agrarian province were disgruntled because of a mediocre harvest, a disastrous summer for cattle producers – the American border had been closed to Canadian beef due to fears of mad cow disease, and the actions of a member of the NDP Cabinet who was found to have misled the people of the province on the nature of the Saskatchewan Potato Utility Development Company ("SPUDCO"), a publicly owned potato company that was inappropriately characterized as a public-private partnership.^[1]

Election issues included emigration (the province's population was falling because young people were leaving the province to look for work), honesty and integrity, privatization of public inter-city transit and energy supplies, and utility rates.

During the campaign, the NDP was attacked for an internal cartoon that had been leaked to the media. It depicted Saskatchewan Party leader Elwin Hermanson directing persons labeled 'NDP sympathizers' onto railway boxcars. The cartoon referred to speculation that, if elected, Hermanson would replace civil servants who were NDP supporters with Saskatchewan Party supporters. However, many associated it with the Holocaust – in particular Nazi Germany's deportation of Jews to concentration camps.^[2]

The campaign as a whole was seen as being quite negative, as the NDP constantly claimed that the Saskatchewan Party had a 'secret agenda' to privatize crown corporations to finance large tax cuts for business; the Saskatchewan Party had a difficult time refuting these claims, as several party members made comments that seemed consistent with this view.

Unlike many of the other provincial elections held in 2003, the election was widely regarded as too close to call up until a large proportion of the polls had reported. To the surprise of observers who believed the NDP would be affected by the poor pre-election conditions, the NDP won its fourth term in government. It actually picked up the one seat it needed for a bare majority. All of its cabinet ministers were re-elected; except for two who had defected to the party from the Liberals.

The Saskatchewan Party cemented its grip on most of the rural seats, yet was unable to make further gains in urban areas. It won two additional seats in Saskatoon, but was completely shut out in Regina (though it came within 543 votes of winning Regina Wascana Plains). Believing he had taken the party as far as he could, Hermanson resigned as leader on November 18, 2003.

Although speculation was high that they could form the balance of power in the case of a minority government, the Liberals lost their one seat.

Results

Note: * Party did not nominate candidates in previous election.

Ranking

6 closest ridings

1. Lloydminster: Milt Wakefield (SK Party) def. Wayne Byers (NDP) by 64 votes
2. Humboldt: Donna Harpauer (SK Party) def. Bryan Barnes (NDP) by 173 votes
3. Saskatoon Northwest: Ted Merriman (SK Party) def. Jim Melenchuk (Ind.-NDP)^[3] by 266 votes
4. Carrot River Valley: Allan Kerpan (SK Party) def. Mark Pitzel (NDP) by 360 votes
5. Weyburn-Big Muddy: Brenda Bakken (SK Party) def. Sherry Leach (NDP) by 385 votes
6. Meadow Lake: Maynard Sonntag (NDP) def. Ron Dosdall (SK Party) by 414 votes

Riding-by-riding results

People in bold represent cabinet ministers and the Speaker. Party leaders are italicized. The symbol " ** " represents MLAs who are not running again.

Northwest Saskatchewan

Northeast Saskatchewan

West Central Saskatchewan

Southwest Saskatchewan

Southeast Saskatchewan

Saskatoon

Regina

See also

• List of political parties in Saskatchewan
• List of Saskatchewan provincial electoral districts

References

• Elections Saskatchewan: Twenty-Fifth Provincial General Election
• Saskatchewan Archives Board - Election Results By Electoral Division

Notes

External links

• CBC Digital Archives - Showdown on the Prairies: A History of Saskatchewan Elections

General resources

• Government of Saskatchewan
• Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
  • Legislature - Election 2003
• Elections Saskatchewan
• CBC - Saskatchewan Votes 2003

Parties

Parties with seats in the house prior to dissolution

• Saskatchewan New Democratics (see also New Democratic Party)
• Saskatchewan Party
• Liberal Party of Saskatchewan (see also Liberal Party of Canada)

Other parties

• Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan
• New Green Alliance Party of Saskatchewan

Other Saskatchewan political links

• Saskatchewan NDP Caucus
• Lorne Calvert, NDP MLA for Saskatoon Riversdale
• Judy Junor, NDP MLA for Saskatoon Eastview
• David Forbes, NDP MLA for Saskatoon Centre

Elections in Saskatchewan
General elections	1905 1908 1912 1917 1921 1925 1929 1934 1938 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1967 1971 1975 1978 1982 1986 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2020
By-elections	List of Saskatchewan by-elections
Municipal elections	2006 2009 2012 2016