Moe both happy and disappointed with results of three byelections in Saskatchewan

It was a mixed bag for the Saskatchewan Party on byelection night Thursday — one seat kept and two lost to the NDP.

The next morning, Premier Scott Moe said he’s happy about the win, but disappointed with the results in the two Regina seats.

“Urban byelection wins have proved to be very elusive for the Saskatchewan Party. We have only won one urban byelection in 16 attempts in the two urban centres,” said Moe, although he pointed out the party has been able to take back some of those seats in provincial elections.

“Maybe (it’s) wishful thinking to some degree as we enter the general election next year, but I’m not saying that that’s not going to happen in Walsh Acres or Coronation Park either. But it certainly is possible.”

Byelections are for sending a message to the government, and Moe said his government has heard those messages loud and clear. He said people were talking about the cost of living and taking care of the community in Regina.

“As the Government of Saskatchewan, we need to listen to that message and we need to look as to what we can do to address those concerns of those families and those individuals in the City of Regina and I’d say more broadly across the province,” said Moe.

But the premier said in Lumsden-Morse, people were also talking a lot about schools and parents, and the incident several weeks ago where a sexually explicit deck of cards was brought into a high school sex education class by a presenter.

“I share those same concerns, as does the Minister of Education,” Moe said in reference to Dustin Duncan.

In the coming weeks, Moe said Duncan will bring forward a plan to make sure nothing like that happens again and that all materials and curriculum in a classroom are appropriate for kids in that area, and that parents are more engaged in the classroom.

The Sask. Party won back its seat in Lumsden-Morse, but the Saskatchewan United Party came in a distant second – showing the Saskatchewan Party lost votes both to the left and right Thursday night.

“There is displeasure on all sides of the political spectrum out there, and I think it’s incumbent on us as a government to listen to everyone and to listen to all sides,” said Moe.

The premier also gave a warning about vote-splitting.

“When you split the vote, you quite likely end up with something that you don’t like,” he said, pointing to the Alberta election in 2015 and years of NDP governments in Saskatchewan before the Liberal and Conservatives parties merged to form the Sask. Party.

During the byelection campaigns, the NDP was very active, posting on social media often and holding events every other day attacking the government. By comparison, the Sask. Party held almost no events.

Moe chalked that up to a difference in campaigning and warned: “Don’t misinterpret it for a lack of effort.”

He also said much of the caucus was busy with the work of government, as it doesn’t stop during a byelection like it does during an election.