The November 7th provincial election in Saskatchewan made it clear that there are some major divisions in our province. (Most people know about them; the election just made them crystal clear.)
The Saskatchewan Party, based on its continuing political record, is (generally) the party of the rich and the rural.
When you look at a map of Saskatchewan’s constituencies, it’s a veritable sea of green — indicating a Sask Party MLA. The bits of orange are in the northern part of the province.
The few urban seats the Sask Party has won tend to be in the more “well-to-do” areas — like the east side of Saskatoon, particularly the north-east and south-east of the city. The seats called “Saskatoon Northwest” and “Saskatoon Southeast” are actually rural constituencies with small urban pockets.
So, generally, the Sask Party is the party of the rural and the rich.
Which is entirely in keeping with Sask Party philosophy.
(Why the NDP, a party with traditional rural roots, has done so poorly in rural areas is a good question to consider.)
So, now it is up to Brad Wall. What is he going to do to bridge the gap between those who are prospering in this economic boom and those who are not? And what is he going to do to bridge the chasm between rural Saskatchewan and urban Saskatchewan?
Will he work at bridging those divides, or will he encourage them for his political advantage?
