Decision Saskatchewan: Voters make their choice in 2024 election

It is officially time for the people of Saskatchewan to decide who they think will best represent them and form government.

The 2024 Saskatchewan Election is here.

For the last 17 years, the Saskatchewan Party has held a majority government, but popularity for the Saskatchewan NDP continues to grow after a full force campaign.

The stage has been set and now, the choice is yours.

This is the first time Saskatchewan has offered nearly a full week of advanced polls, and the results have been record setting.

Today, polls close across the province at 8 p.m. before the votes are hand counted, and a winner is announced.

But as we await this evening’s results, let’s go back to see how we got here.

Of the 61 seats at the Saskatchewan legislature at the time of dissolution, the Saskatchewan Party held the lion’s share with 42 seats.

The opposition NDP held 14 seats, four seats were held by independents, and one was vacant.

1:24 The Sask. Party and Saskatchewan NDP battle it out in smaller cities

According to Elections Saskatchewan, there are seven registered political parties participating:

Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe has been premier for the last six years heading into the election.

Moe has spent the campaign running on the “Sask. Party record.”

“Who is best to ensure that we have a strong, vibrant, growing economy into the future so that we can create that bright future for everyone?” Moe said. “That will be the ballot questions and that’s what we’ll be focused on.”

If Moe is elected once again, the makeup of his party will look drastically different with five high-profile ministers bowing out.

Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck will look to swoop in and lead her party to form government for the first time in 17 years.

Beck was first introduced to the legislature in 2016, before taking over as leader of the NDP in 2022 after Ryan Meili stepped down.

“We want all areas of the province to be strong,” Beck said. “We want to be a government for all people in this province. That’s one of the things that drives me.”

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In order to win the election or take some seats in the legislature, parties need to hit the right tone and focus on the issues that matter the most to people in Saskatchewan.

Health care has been the primary topic of discussion over the 27-day campaign.

“Our health care system is broken,” Beck said during the provincial debate. “Scott Moe and the Sask. Party broke it. They can’t be trusted to fix it. We hear heartbreaking stories every day about people in this province not able to get the care that they need. We see people dying on wait lists before they get the care that they need. We’ve got a plan.”

Moe said the challenges people are seeing in Saskatchewan are happening across Canada.

“This is a party that will provide more doctors, more nurses, more training spaces, more hospitals, but also acknowledge we have more work to do,” Moe said.

“1,800 nurses have been hired in the last 18 months… The surgical wait time in Saskatchewan are actually lower than it was in 2007, despite 250,000 additional people living here today.”

Other hot topic issues include affordability, education and crime.

The NDP say they will cut the fuel tax on day one and remove PST on children’s clothing and groceries by Christmas if elected.

Moe has pointed to cutting the Carbon Tax on home heating and lowering the interest rate because of it. He also outlined how his party would be reducing income taxes for those in Saskatchewan and making life more affordable for students, seniors, families and homeowners.

As for the Sask. Party’s day one priority, it has been one met with controversy. Moe said that his “first order of business” would be to establish a policy restricting students’ use of change rooms in the province’s schools to their sex assigned at birth.

When it comes to other parties entering the fold, it will be an uphill battle. However, the newly-formed Saskatchewan United Party could garner some votes as they appeal to a more “conservative” demographic who say the Sask. Party has gone too liberal.

Perhaps most notably, the Lumsden-Morse riding will be an interesting one to watch for SUP, as leader Jon Hromek hopes to earn a spot in the legislature.

Global News will have live coverage of the election results as soon as polls close at 8 p.m.