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Michael Kram didn’t take down a Liberal cabinet minister in the 2021 federal election like he did in 2019, but he still had a sense of accomplishment Monday.
“In some ways, I have to say that tonight feels a little bit better than election night two years ago,” Kram said after his second consecutive victory in Regina-Wascana.
“There have been so many people who have said that our victory in this riding two years ago was somehow some sort of a fluke. But it’s evident based on the results on TV that because of all of the hard work of the people in this room, Regina-Wascana is firmly in the blue column.”
Kram, Andrew Scheer (Regina-Qu’Appelle) and Warren Steinley (Regina-Lewvan) all were poised to win re-election Monday, keeping intact Regina’s part of the Conservative Party’s so-called “blue wall” in Saskatchewan.
The Conservatives went into the election holding all 14 seats in Saskatchewan and, as of Monday, they appear to be on their way to retaining all 14. Mail-in ballots in Saskatoon West could determine if Brad Redekopp holds on to that seat for the Conservatives.
Kram said his party’s success in Saskatchewan is an indictment of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.
“It shows that there’s certainly a lot of frustration in Western Canada with the job that Justin Trudeau has been doing over the last six years,” Kram said.
“I was hopeful that (Conservative Leader) Erin O’Toole had found the secret formula to form government, but I guess that will have to wait until the next election.”
Asked to expand on his comments about this victory being better than his win over Ralph Goodale in 2019, Kram said Monday’s win was vindication.
“I have had people say that (the win in 2019) was a one-in-a-million fluke and it would never happen again,” he said. “After seeing the results tonight, it really is reassuring knowing that 2019 was not a one-off and that people have invested their trust in me once again.”
Kram, who got 49.4 per cent of the vote to unseat Goodale in 2019, had 47.3 per cent of the vote Monday with 154 of 175 polls reporting. The Liberals’ Sean McEachern (26.2 per cent) was second.
Regina-Lewvan
After a close battle with the NDP’s Tria Donaldson in the early stages, Steinley held a steady lead as the evening progressed.
With 206 of 216 polls reporting, Steinley had 47.7 per cent of the vote, with Donaldson second at 34.2 per cent.
Steinley, who made the move from provincial politics to run in the 2019 election, captured his seat in the 2019 election with 52.5 per cent of the vote.
Donaldson wouldn’t concede Monday despite trailing by around 5,000 votes.
“We’re still waiting on the votes from the advance polls, which I think is where we’re going to see a lot of the votes come in,” she said. “As well, the mail-in ballots aren’t getting counted until Wednesday, so it’s looking like it’s still within our grasp and I’m pretty excited right now.”
And if the seat doesn’t flip after all the ballots are counted?
“I am so proud of the campaign that we’ve built and the fact that we’ve shown it is doable,” she replied. “If I don’t win, I’m coming back for you, Warren Steinley.”
Donaldson said her close race with Steinley — and the Conservatives’ inability to make up ground on the Liberals — was indicative of flagging support for the Conservatives and growing support for hers.
“It’s an exciting time to be a New Democrat,” Donaldson said. “We ran a really good campaign based on ideas and we saw a lot of huge support for those ideas.
“I’ve had people who have voted Conservative their whole life that told us they were voting for me for the first time because of things like COVID and how Conservative governments have been handling COVID. Our plan really resonated with voters and it’s exciting to see that translate tonight in terms of results.”
Regina-Qu’Appelle
Scheer, who was the Conservatives’ leader in the 2019 election campaign, had 76 per cent of the votes after the first poll reported Monday and was never challenged.
It’s his seventh win in an election, following 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2019. He had 62.7 per cent of the vote with 168 of 179 polls reporting.
Annaliese Bos of the NDP was second at that stage with 20.3 per cent of the votes.
Scheer received 63.1 per cent of the vote in 2019.
— With files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick and Dom Lucyk
