Brad Wall speaks to media one day after the Saskatchewan Party's electoral victory at the Legislative Building in Regina, April 5, 2016.Michael Bell/The Canadian Press
Brad Wall's Saskatchewan Party has, for the second time, knocked the leader of the provincial New Democratic Party out of his seat as the right-of-centre party cemented its power roughly two months before it expects to release a budget.
The day after the election, Mr. Wall offered to hold a by-election, so NDP Leader Cam Broten could try to win back a seat.
"Should Mr. Broten decide that he would like to perhaps run in a by-election, if one of his members wants to step aside for him, [then] we would co-operate and work to call that by-election right away," Mr. Wall said.
Mr. Broten, who ran in a new riding in Saskatoon, received 232 fewer votes than the Sask Party's candidate Monday, according to Elections Saskatchewan's preliminary results. Mr. Broten won his party's leadership race in 2013 by a margin of 44 votes. The top spot opened up after the Sask Party beat then-NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter in the 2011 election.
Mr. Wall's Sask Party secured 51 seats in this election, while the NDP got 10. Voters gave Mr. Wall a third term and a chance at becoming the province's second-longest serving premier after Tommy Douglas.
Mr. Broten's defeat, coupled with the NDP's failure to gain ground in the election, has prompted concerns that the province won't have an effective opposition holding the government to account. The Sask Party's forthcoming budget will likely face little criticism at a time when the economy is slumping and the government is running consecutive deficits.
"We're going to have more or less the government just rolling out whatever it wants," Jim Farney, a professor in the politics and international studies department at the University of Regina, said. "It is what the province voted for, but it is dangerous.
"There's no alternative and there's no holding to account."
Mr. Broten, who is 37 and has young children, has not decided whether he will resign. "I'm going to spend a couple of days with my family, speak with my colleagues, and consider how we move forward," he said in a statement Tuesday.
Mr. Wall, speaking to reporters at the legislature in Regina on Tuesday, said the NDP was a "pretty effective" official opposition when it had only nine caucus members.
The Sask Party held the legislature's other 49 seats when the writ dropped. There were three more seats up for grabs in this election. Elections Saskatchewan reported 57 per cent of registered voters went to the polls.
It could be risky for the NDP to try to make room for Mr. Broten in the legislature through a by-election because the party has few, if any, safe seats in the province, according to Prof. Farney.
The Sask Party's David Buckingham beat Mr. Broten in Saskatoon Westview. Mr. Buckingham was previously the mayor of Borden, Sask., a village of 245 people about 50 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.
"It is time for the NDP to do some serious soul-searching," Dionne Pohler, a professor at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan, said Tuesday.
Mr. Wall did not put out a budget prior to calling the election and his campaign platform was skimpy on both promises and financial details. He is expected to release a budget in late May or early June. The government, according to an update in February, will run a deficit of $427.2-million this fiscal year, after originally forecasting a $106.8-million surplus. Mr. Wall pledged to run a deficit of $259-million in fiscal 2016-2017 and then a surplus of $50-million the following year.
Saskatchewan's revenue is closely tied to resource industries, making it susceptible to the health of the global economy. This means Mr. Wall, who governed through the boom years, will likely have to make controversial financial decisions this term.
Mr. Wall, speaking to CTV, said the end of this term will also be the end of his political career.
"This is the last stop and one that I'm so very honoured to have the opportunity to serve," he said.
With a report from The Canadian Press
Carrie Tait