There was huge voter-turnout problem in last Monday's Saskatchewan election.
We used to call it the NDP vote, but it has disappeared somewhere.
And it wasn't just in rural Saskatchewan where NDP votes actually started to vanish decades ago. The NDP vote has now also started to disappear in the cities, where the Sask. Party picked up 10 of its 11 additional seats for a grand total of 49 in the 58-seat assembly.
To better understand this phenomenon of the Sask. Party now dominating in both the country and the city, let me put forward a few absolutely mind-boggling statistics from election night.
For starters, the Sask. Party's biggest disappointment last Monday has to be Cannington MLA Dan D'Autremont who has always won his riding with three-quarters of the popular vote.
Admittedly, D'Autremont again won with three-quarters of the vote. (74.9 per cent to be precise), but that was less than the 77.8 per cent he garnered in 2007. That makes D'Autremont the only Sask. Party candidate out of the 58 that received a lower percentage popular vote in 2011 than the riding's respective Sask. Party candidate in the respective riding in 2007.
In fact, five Sask. Party candidates - Nancy Heppner, Martensville (83.2 per cent), Wayne Elhard, Cypress Hills (82.7 per cent), Yogi Huyghebaert, Wood River (81.9 per cent), Jim Reiter, Rosetown-Elrose (80.9 per cent) and Brad Wall, Swift Current (80.7 per cent) - topped 80 per cent.
There were another 10 Sask. Party candidates with more than 75 per cent of the popular vote: Bill Boyd, Kindersley, (79.7 per cent); Lyle Stewart, Thunder Creek, (79.5 per cent); Doreen Eagles, Estevan, (79.1 per cent); Don Toth, Moosomin, (77.2 per cent); June Draude, Kelvington-Wadena, (76.9 per cent); Randy Weekes, Biggar (76.9 per cent); Don McMorris, Indian Head-Milestone (76.3 per cent); Dustin Duncan, Weyburn-Big Muddy (75.7 per cent); Fred Bradshaw, Carrot River Valley (75.3 per cent), and; Don Morgan, Saskatoon Â鶹ÊÓƵeast (75.2 per cent). So with just shy of three quarters of the vote, D'Autremont tied for 17th best popular vote with Ken Cheveldayoff of Saskatoon Silver Springs at 74.9 per cent.
Others with more than 70 per cent included: Greg Brkich, Arm River-Watrous (73.7 per cent); Bob Bjornerud Melville-Saltcoats, (73.5 per cent); Donna Harpauer, Humboldt (73.1 per cent); Kevin Phillips, Melfort (73 per cent), Greg Ottenbreit, Yorkton (72.3 per cent) and; Gord Wyant Saskatoon Northwest (70.1 per cent). Another 12 Sask. Party candidates registered more than 60 per cent and 12 more were about 50 per cent.
This means a total of 47 of the 49 Sask. Party candidates that won, with a 50-per-cent majority or better. The only winning Sask. Party candidates with less than 50 per cent of the vote were Victoria Jurgens, Prince Albert Northcote (49.9 per cent) and Greg Lawrence, Moose Jaw Wakamow (49.3 per cent). By comparison, of the nine NDP wins, only the two northern MLAs - Buckley Belanger (Athabasca) and Doyle Vermette (Cumberland) - won with outright majorities. The rest squeaked in with vote totals in the mid- to high-40-per-cent range, meaning the NDP could have easily been reduced to two northern seats.
But as amazing as these Sask. Party numbers were, perhaps the magnitude of the win can best be measured in the actual number votes Sask. Party candidates received.
This was an election in which popular vote fell to 66 per cent compared with 76 per cent in 2007 - a 40,000 drop in the number of voters. But despite the fact that there were simply less votes to be had this election, 44 Sask. Party MLAs got more votes than the party's respective candidate in 2007. (Interestingly, of the 14 Sask. Party candidates that got less actual votes, only two were in the cities.)
In short, voters did stay home last Monday night. Most of them were once NDP voters.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 15 years.
