2020 Saskatchewan general election

The 2020 Saskatchewan general election was held on October 26, 2020 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. This date was set by Saskatchewan's fixed election date law. The writ was dropped on September 29 just in time to hold the election on October 26.

The previous election re-elected the Saskatchewan Party to its third consecutive majority government under the leadership of Brad Wall. On August 10, 2017, Wall announced his resignation as leader, pending the election of his successor. On January 27, 2018, Environment Minister Scott Moe was elected leader of the Saskatchewan Party. He was appointed and sworn in as premier on February 2.

The conservative Saskatchewan Party under Moe was re-elected to its fourth consecutive majority government.

Date Since 2010, the Legislative Assembly has had a fixed four-year term. According to the 2019 amendment to The Legislative Assembly Act, 2007 (Saskatchewan), "the first general election after the coming into force of this subsection must be held on Monday, October 26, 2020". However, the act also provides that if the election period overlaps with a federal election period, the provincial election is to be postponed until the first Monday of the following April; in this case: April 5, 2021. Because the 43rd Canadian Parliament was a minority Parliament, such a federal election was possible, but it did not occur prior to the provincial election being called. The fixed election law does not infringe on the lieutenant governor's right to dissolve the Legislative Assembly at an earlier date on the premier's advice.

Although Premier Moe hinted at the possibility of calling a snap election in spring 2020, Moe announced on March 12 that he would not do so, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Saskatchewan.

This was the third provincial election held in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada after New Brunswick and British Columbia.

Incumbents not contesting their seats

Retiring incumbents Saskatchewan Party New Democratic Party

Results Like the previous election, few seats changed hands, though there was a small swing in the overall popular vote to the NDP. The Saskatchewan Party retained its sweep of the central and southern rural ridings, with no rural seats changing hands. Overall, the NDP's seat total was left unchanged at 13. No other party won any seats.

Saskatoon saw a swing to the NDP, with the New Democrats recording a net gain of one seat. The NDP picked up Saskatoon Eastview and Saskatoon University from the Sask. Party, however (especially given the overall swing to the NDP in the cities) the surprise of the night was in Saskatoon Riversdale, the riding of former premier Roy Romanow, which was won by the Saskatchewan Party for the first time. It was only the second time in that riding's history it was not won by the NDP, and arguably an even bigger upset since the only other such occasion was the 1982 Progressive Conservative landslide in which (unlike in 2020) the Tories took all of Saskatoon.

Regina also saw a swing towards the NDP, which gained Regina University from the Saskatchewan Party. However, this was balanced by the loss of its 2018 by-election gain of Regina Northeast. The Saskatchewan Party also re-gained the seat of Prince Albert Northcote, leaving the NDP shut out outside of Saskatoon, Regina and Northern Saskatchewan.

The newly formed Buffalo Party finished second in four rural ridings, and finished third place in the overall popular vote despite running far fewer candidates than the Green Party or the Progressive Conservatives. The PC's finished fifth behind the Greens in overall popular vote, but recorded more votes per candidate than the Greens. The Greens were the only other party besides the Saskatchewan Party and NDP to run anything close to a full slate of candidates, but averaged barely more votes per candidate on average than the essentially dormant Liberal Party. The Liberals ran only three paper candidates in order to maintain their party registration and did not run a meaningful campaign.

+ Election to the 29th Saskatchewan LegislaturePartyLeaderCandidatesVotesSeats # ± % Change (pp) 2016 2020 ±Scott Moe 61 269,996 780 61.12 513Ryan Meili 61 140,576 9,439 31.82 103Wade Sira (i) 17 11,298 11,298 2.56 Naomi Hunter 60 10,031 2,064 2.27 0.43Ken Grey 31 8,404 2,833 1.90 0.62 3 1,076 617 0.24 -0.15Robert Rudachyk (i) 3 355 15,213 0.08 Total 236441,736 100.00% Rejected ballots 3,261 146 Turnout444,997 10,75354.17% 2.65 Registered voters821,422 57,158

Historical results from 1991 onwards

Synopsis of results

+ 2020 Saskatchewan general election - synopsis of riding results Ridingsorted as per results summary Winning party Turnoutincluding rejected and declined ballots Votes 2016 Party 1st place Share Margin# Margin% 2nd place Sask NDP Buff Grn PC Lib Total  Arm River  Sask  Sask 6,569 76.98% 5,233 61.33%   NDP65.26% 6,569 1,336 – 197 431 – – 8,533 Athabasca  NDP  NDP 1,730 56.80% 618 20.29%  Sask 33.63% 1,112 1,730 – 204 – – – 3,046 Batoche  Sask  Sask 4,357 65.28% 2,546 38.15%  NDP56.47% 4,357 1,811 – 156 350 – – 6,674 Biggar-Sask Valley  Sask  Sask 5,775 73.52% 4,582 58.33%  NDP57.60% 5,775 1,193 698 189 – – – 7,855 Cannington  Sask  Sask 5,781 73.77% 4,542 57.96%  Buff62.38% 5,781 680 1,239 136 – – – 7,836 Canora-Pelly  Sask  Sask 4,343 68.31% 2,819 44.34%  NDP 54.04% 4,343 1,524 358 133 – – – 6,358 Carrot River Valley  Sask  Sask 4,833 74.54% 3,551 54.77%  NDP 52.58% 4,833 1,282 – 90 279 – – 6,484 Cumberland  NDP  NDP 2,807 66.53% 1,511 35.81%  Sask 29.34% 1,296 2,807 – 116 – – – 4,219 Cut Knife-Turtleford  Sask  Sask 5,517 76.91% 4,574 63.77%  NDP55.46% 5,517 943 572 141 – – – 7,173 Cypress Hills  Sask  Sask 4,685 65.13% 3,296 45.82%  Buff57.11% 4,685 681 1,389 110 328 – – 7,193 Estevan  Sask  Sask 4,409 62.43% 2,696 38.18%  Buff57.85% 4,409 470 1,713 116 354 – – 7,062 Humboldt-Watrous  Sask  Sask 5,713 72.81% 4,533 57.77%  NDP61.87% 5,713 1,180 529 181 243 – – 7,846 Indian Head-Milestone  Sask  Sask 5,626 67.02% 3,255 38.77%  NDP59.56% 5,626 2,371 – 147 251 – – 8,395 Kelvington-Wadena  Sask  Sask 4,791 69.57% 3,568 51.81%  NDP57.57% 4,791 1,223 370 172 331 – – 6,887 Kindersley  Sask  Sask 5,269 74.40% 4,228 59.70%  Buff57.87% 5,269 508 1,041 70 194 – – 7,082 Last Mountain-Touchwood  Sask  Sask 4,461 62.44% 2,661 37.24%  NDP60.09% 4,461 1,800 411 146 327 – – 7,145 Lloydminster  Sask  Sask 3,846 82.41% 3,316 71.05%  NDP 30.45% 3,846 530 235 56 – – – 4,667 Lumsden-Morse  Sask  Sask 6,243 73.40% 4,714 55.42%  NDP63.39% 6,243 1,529 509 225 – – – 8,506 Martensville-Warman  Sask  Sask 7,137 74.01% 5,358 55.56%  NDP 53.53% 7,137 1,779 566 161 – – – 9,643 Meadow Lake  Sask  Sask 4,540 71.63% 2,913 45.96%  NDP 46.08% 4,540 1,627 – 171 – – – 6,338 Melfort  Sask  Sask 5,550 77.58% 4,418 61.76%  NDP57.52% 5,550 1,132 369 103 – – – 7,154 Melville-Saltcoats  Sask  Sask 5,394 75.94% 4,146 58.37%  NDP56.10% 5,394 1,248 – 137 324 – – 7,103 Moose Jaw North  Sask  Sask 4,733 63.75% 2,201 29.65%  NDP58.24% 4,733 2,532 – 159 – – – 7,424 Moose Jaw Wakamow  Sask  Sask 3,466 53.40% 822 12.66%  NDP 50.60% 3,466 2,644 – 142 239 – – 6,491 Moosomin  Sask  Sask 5,467 77.78% 4,324 61.52%  NDP54.82% 5,467 1,143 – 171 248 – – 7,029 Prince Albert Carlton  Sask  Sask 3,867 57.68% 1,304 19.45%  NDP 48.30% 3,867 2,563 – 99 175 – – 6,704 Prince Albert Northcote  NDP  Sask 2,652 48.84% 195 3.59%  NDP 37.78% 2,652 2,457 – 106 215 – – 5,430 Regina Coronation Park  Sask  Sask 2,913 48.87% 283 4.75%  NDP 47.64% 2,913 2,630 – 191 227 – – 5,961 Regina Douglas Park  NDP  NDP 3,545 60.14% 1,737 29.47%  Sask 46.04% 1,808 3,545 – 211 331 – – 5,895 Regina Elphinstone-Centre  NDP  NDP 2,491 61.42% 1,365 33.65%  Sask 32.13% 1,126 2,491 – 260 124 – 55 4,056 Regina Gardiner Park  Sask  Sask 4,342 60.78% 1,800 25.20%  NDP57.88% 4,342 2,542 – 142 118 – – 7,144 Regina Lakeview  NDP  NDP 4,739 65.47% 2,545 35.16%  Sask59.46% 2,194 4,739 – 202 – 103 – 7,238 Regina Northeast  Sask  Sask 3,709 49.60% 450 6.02%  NDP58.32% 3,709 3,259 – 135 272 103 – 7,478 Regina Pasqua  Sask  Sask 4,791 47.23% 256 2.52%  NDP54.30% 4,791 4,535 – 409 408 – – 10,143 Regina Rochdale  Sask  Sask 5,981 56.18% 1,841 17.29%  NDP62.64% 5,981 4,140 – 209 317 – – 10,647 Regina Rosemont  NDP  NDP 4,094 57.83% 1,572 22.21%  Sask 53.38% 2,522 4,094 – 168 295 – – 7,079 Regina University  Sask  NDP 3,478 49.99% 342 4.92%  Sask62.78% 3,136 3,478 – 180 164 – – 6,958 Regina Walsh Acres  Sask  Sask 3,148 46.62% 606 8.98%  NDP56.49% 3,148 2,542 – – 265 – 797 6,752 Regina Wascana Plains  Sask  Sask 7,209 63.80% 3,590 31.77%  NDP63.63% 7,209 3,619 – 248 – – 224 11,300 Rosetown-Elrose  Sask  Sask 5,806 77.70% 4,615 61.76%  NDP62.54% 5,806 1,191 – 193 282 – – 7,472 Rosthern-Shellbrook  Sask  Sask 5,341 79.54% 4,257 63.40%  NDP55.18% 5,341 1,084 – 146 144 – – 6,715 Saskatchewan Rivers  Sask  Sask 4,401 62.22% 2,562 36.22%  NDP58.55% 4,401 1,839 292 117 424 – – 7,073 Saskatoon Centre  NDP  NDP 3,080 58.52% 1,049 19.93%  Sask 39.48% 2,031 3,080 – 152 – – – 5,263 Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood  Sask  Sask 3,839 49.55% 259 3.34%  NDP61.71% 3,839 3,580 – 130 198 – – 7,747 Saskatoon Eastview  Sask  NDP 4,063 50.78% 359 4.49%  Sask62.82% 3,704 4,063 – 234 – – – 8,001 Saskatoon Fairview  Sask  NDP 3,759 53.91% 991 14.21%  Sask 47.10% 2,768 3,759 – 131 315 – – 6,973 Saskatoon Meewasin  Sask  NDP 3,700 51.24% 367 5.08%  Sask56.27% 3,333 3,700 – 188 – – – 7,221 Saskatoon Northwest  Sask  Sask 4,390 62.17% 1,871 26.50%  NDP60.36% 4,390 2,519 – 152 – – – 7,061 Saskatoon Nutana  NDP  NDP 4,777 65.13% 2,438 33.24%  Sask56.95% 2,339 4,777 – 219 – – – 7,335 Saskatoon Riversdale  NDP  Sask 2,984 49.18% 81 1.34%  NDP 45.96% 2,984 2,903 – 180 – – – 6,067 Saskatoon Silverspring-Sutherland  Sask  Sask 4,272 59.07% 1,535 21.23%  NDP54.25% 4,272 2,737 – 223 – – – 7,232 Saskatoon Southeast  Sask  Sask 5,679 63.58% 2,599 29.10%  NDP59.59% 5,679 3,080 – 173 – – – 8,932 Saskatoon Stonebridge-Dakota  Sask  Sask 7,584 67.17% 4,501 39.87%  NDP57.87% 7,584 3,083 334 289 – – – 11,290 Saskatoon University  Sask  NDP 3,225 52.97% 495 8.13%  Sask54.45% 2,730 3,225 – 133 – – – 6,088 Saskatoon Westview  Sask  Sask 4,322 54.30% 1,062 13.34%  NDP 51.12% 4,322 3,260 – 229 – 149 – 7,960 Saskatoon Willowgrove  Sask  Sask 7,509 66.38% 3,909 34.56%  NDP56.81% 7,509 3,600 – 203 – – – 11,312 Swift Current  Sask  Sask 5,620 78.44% 4,199 58.60%  NDP57.11% 5,620 1,421 – 124 – – – 7,165 The Battlefords  Sask  Sask 4,477 66.19% 2,546 37.64%  NDP 48.04% 4,477 1,931 – 125 231 – – 6,764 Weyburn-Big Muddy  Sask  Sask 5,972 77.01% 4,951 63.84%  NDP61.70% 5,972 1,021 673 89 – – – 7,755 Wood River  Sask  Sask 6,413 82.79% 5,328 68.78%  NDP63.33% 6,413 1,085 – 248 – – – 7,746 Yorkton  Sask  Sask 4,171 74.01% 2,870 50.92%  NDP 44.66% 4,171 1,301 – 164 – – – 5,636

= Open seat = Turnout is above provincial average = Winning candidate was in previous Legislature = Incumbent had switched allegiance = Previously incumbent in another riding = Not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature = Incumbency arose from byelection gain = Other incumbents renominated = NDP candidate - nomination reversed by party leader = Previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada = Multiple candidates

Comparative analysis for ridings (2020 vs 2016)