Election day 2011 in Saskatchewan will be one for the history books.
It may also be the benchmark for a rather dramatic change in the political landscape of this province moving forward.
The numbers are of course historic.
The Saskatchewan Party captured 49 seats, up from 38 in the last term, relegating the New Democrats to only nine seats. Interestingly the NDP have been is such a situation before, relegated to nine seats in 1981, when they had a smaller percentage of a larger Legislature, the Progressive Conservatives holding 55 seats that year.
In 1981 Grant Devine's PCs grabbed 54 per cent of the popular vote, then a record level of support in Saskatchewan.
This year when the dust had settled just more than 64 per cent of voters cast their ballots for the Saskatchewan Party -- a new historic high -- compared to just under 32 per cent for the NDP.
So history holds a warning for Premier Brad Wall. A party may look invincible following a landslide win, but support can siphon away rather quickly. In 1981, Premier Devine went on a spending spree on money the province did not have, sending Saskatchewan into massive debt, and voters turfed the party to the point it was a shadow of the PCs which was left to join forces with the Liberals in creating the Saskatchewan Party.
We may have a love-fest going on with the Saskatchewan Party right now, but ultimately we demand good policies.
Wall and his government made few miscues in its first four years in power, and those they did make were not major enough to create an issue to lose an election over.
Of course a buoyant economy, some of it as a result of Saskatchewan Party efforts, some on a foundation laid by the former NDP, and mostly because world commodity markets have been strong, helped keep voters in a very good mood. Any government gets to bask in the glow of a good economy.
Moving forward Wall's legacy will be based on how he and his party maintain the economic momentum and how they make sure all Saskatchewan people share in that economic strength.
Historically Saskatchewan has long been a province with a strong socialist heart, evidenced by the start of universal free health care for all.
The recent election might suggest a change in that heartbeat, which could in-part be true as we begin to feel the influence of Alberta immigration to our province, but the idea of provincial legislation that treats all fairly, and supports the province's most vulnerable remain ideals Wall should aspire too.
The good news, the Saskatchewan Party is not Devine's PCs, still tempered as they are by a number of former Liberal 小蓝视频s, putting them more middle of the road politically. If Wall can keep the party centered the Saskatchewan Party should avoid the pitfalls of far right politics.
We have certainly given Wall and the Saskatchewan Party our complete trust following the election. Now he and his party have four years to prove they were deserving of that trust.
