Sask. Party breaks through with byelection win in northern Sask.

It appears that voters in northern Saskatchewan are sending former RCMP officer Jim Lemaigre to the provincial legislature.

Preliminary results of Tuesday’s byelection in the constituency of Athabasca show the Saskatchewan Party candidate winning with just over 51 per cent of the vote.

Georgina Jolibois, a former mayor of La Loche and an ex-Member of Parliament, finished second for the New Democrats with just over 40 per cent of the 2,228 ballots cast.

Independent Darwin Roy came in third, while Clint Arnason of the Buffalo Party finished fourth.

The byelection result ends the NDP’s 25-year reign in the northern riding.

The seat became vacant in August when former NDP MLA Buckley Belanger resigned from the legislature to pursue an unsuccessful bid for the Liberal Party in the September federal election.

Premier Scott Moe on Twitter called the election results very significant.

Your @SaskParty government has always had MLAs representing every part of the province, except for the far north. That changed tonight. Saskatchewan Party MLAs now represent every part of SK, from border to border to border to border.

[2/2]

— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) February 16, 2022

Voter turnout was 24 per cent.