SOUTHEAST SASKATCHEWAN - Most of the candidates who were defeated in Souris-Moose Mountain in the April 28 federal election weren't surprised with the results.
With all 211 polling stations reporting, Steven Bonk of the Conservative Party was elected to a first term as the riding's MP, garnering 34,793 of the 41,564 votes cast, or 83.7 per cent of the popular vote. Aziz Mian of the Liberal Party was second with 4,051 votes (9.7 per cent), followed by Sheena Muirhead Koops of the New Democratic Party with 1,888 votes (4.5 per cent), Remi Rheault of the Green Party with 371 votes (0.9 per cent), Lyndon Dayman of the Canadian Future Party with 304 votes (.7 per cent), and independent candidate Travis Patron with 157 votes (.4 per cent).
Sheena Muirhead Koops was running in an election for the first time. Everything on election night came as a surprise to her.
"I'm really proud of the team that came together on pretty short notice," said Muirhead Koops.
She hadn't heard much about Mian and people she talked to didn't know anything about him, either. But Muirhead Koops didn't come into the election with much in the way of expectations.
"There'll be lots of time afterwards to listen to commentary, but I certainly know I had a lot of fun meeting new people, and just getting to places [I had been to] two, three or four times in my life," she said.
Muirhead Koops said she would like to run again for the NDP, and she is already thinking about what the next term could look like as the party is rebuilt in the southeast, where the party and universal health care began.
She spent the past few weeks talking with small and medium-sized businesses about what it will take to revitalize these communities.
And while the NDP struggled on election night, finishing with its lowest number of seats since 1993, Muirhead Koops said she was proud of the campaign outgoing leader Jagmeet Singh run and how Singh was talking with people and standing with people in all circumstances.
The campaign was a lot of fun, and Koops Muirhead is proud she was able to visit all eight Indigenous reserves in the riding.
Remi Rheault offered his congratulations to Bonk on the election victory. He believes it was time for some change politically, and will be monitoring the political landscape during this term.
This was his first time running in Souris-Moose Mountain, since he is new to the area. He ran for the federal Greens in Ontario in 2021 and provincially for the party in the 2024 Saskatchewan election.
"It was such an important vote, and it's my first time running in this constituency, 小蓝视频 a new resident in the area. I'm happy with whatever people put their faith in me, and I will continue working towards earning their respect and earning their vote for the next time."
He vowed he would run in Souris-Moose Mountain again, and he is pleased to have settled down in Grenfell.
Rheault said people need to keep a close watch on the federal political scene. He's glad to see people turning out as much as possible.
"It seems that people have found an opportunity to go out and voice [their opinions] through their vote, and I'm very, very happy with that," said Rheault.
Lyndon Dayman says he is disappointed after finishing fifth, but even more so he is upset to see the federal results.
"The last thing I wanted to see was another Liberal government," Dayman said.
Dayman said his campaign was hindered by the snap election call, leaving little time for the party and candidates to get organized or raise funds.
Dayman criticized the Conservative Party for what he called the "parachuting" of Bonk into the riding – a concern that was also raised by many constituents, he said. He noted the move motivated him to run as an alternative.
"I had to try. But we didn't get it done," he said.
He added he does not believe Bonk will represent the riding effectively.
"He's taking the seat to further his own career nationally. There's no way he's running here to represent us," Dayman said,
Despite receiving supportive messages, Dayman said many voters ultimately stuck with the Conservatives to avoid splitting the right-leaning vote.
He urged his supporters to stay involved and "keep the faith, keep fighting".
"We're a grassroots community," he said. "You got to vote, you got to vote your conscience, and don't give up. We have a Liberal government, but we just can't give up here."
The balance of power 小蓝视频 held by the Bloc Québécois was also worrying, Dayman said.
"To me, that's pretty scary," he said. "It's scary to think what the Liberals will spend to get Bloc support. There goes our pipelines, and our oil patch, and our canola, and our pork."
Looking ahead, Dayman said he was uncertain whether he would continue in politics, citing the personal toll of campaigning.
"I had hopes to do an awful lot better tonight, and you know, it's a little bit disheartening," he said. "I'm getting pretty old for this business. It's stressful and expensive."
Before ending the interview, Dayman called on candidates to remove their campaign signs.
"I'd like to send a message to Steven Bonk and to the NDP to make sure they get their environmentally unfriendly sign pollution picked up real soon," he said.
Lyndon Dayman says he is disappointed after finishing fifth, but even more so he is upset to see federal results.
"I'm not very happy with the results. The last thing I wanted to see was another Liberal government," Dayman said.
Dayman said his campaign was hindered by the snap election call, leaving little time for the party and candidates to get organized or raise funds.
Despite receiving supportive messages, Dayman said many voters ultimately stuck with the federal Conservatives to avoid splitting the right-leaning vote.
He urged his supporters to stay involved and "keep the faith, keep fighting."
"We're a grassroots community," he said. "You got to vote, you got to vote your conscience, and don't give up. We have a Liberal government, but we just can't give up here."
The balance of power held by the Bloc Québécois was also worrying, Dayman said.
Looking ahead, Dayman said he was uncertain whether he would continue in politics, citing the personal toll of campaigning.
Before ending the interview, Dayman called on candidates to remove their campaign signs.
"I'd like to send a message to Steven Bonk and to the NDP to make sure they get their environmentally-unfriendly sign pollution picked up real soon," he said.
Prior emails to the Liberal Party, seeking comments from candidate Aziz Mian, were not returned. A bio for Mian was not posted on the party's website.
