Liberals face third straight shutout

Ryan Bater in his campaign office in North Battleford on election night. Photo by Trelle Burdeniuk.

by Trelle Burdeniuk

Dozens of election signs form curtains in Ryan Bater’s downtown North Battleford constituency office. Like they hang in the windows, the hopes of electing a Liberal MLA were also hanging on Bater. Instead, the Saskatchewan Liberal party was shut out for the third straight provincial election.

“Sometimes in politics, the wind is just not in your sail,” said Bater, Saskatchewan Liberal leader. “I still believe the platform we put out is the best platform for the people of Saskatchewan.”

Bater was a bit deflated, like the red balloons in his campaign office that started to drift to the floor by the end of the night. He didn’t win his seat in The Battlefords constituency. Instead, with only 11.8 per cent of the vote, he came in a distant third. The Saskatchewan Party’s Herb Cox won by beating out the NDP’s Len Taylor, who had previously held the seat.

When asked whether this defeat signals the end of his leadership, Bater said he won’t resign.

“I have every intention to stick around as leader. Of course, it’s not really my decision in the end.  It’s the membership of the party who decides that. But, as long as they’ll have me, I will stay as leader of the party.”

Some voters in Bater’s constituency were also disappointed. Randall Stone cast his ballot for Bater with hopes the Liberal party would win this seat. Stone said he came out because he thought the results would be close.

“This is the first time (I’ve voted). I thought my vote might count.”

Trevor Angus is also a voter who lives in North Battleford and was upset when Bater didn’t win a seat.

“Everyone has their chance to try, so it’s good that he tried and wants to make a difference,” said Angus.

Zach Jeffries, the president of the Saskatchewan Young Liberal Organization, said the Liberals just couldn’t fight the Saskatchewan Party’s massive support.

“The fact is this Saskatchewan Party wave is stronger than anyone may have predicted. People look at the polls and like to say they’re going to vote for a winner. The fact is that they did this time. We were just caught under that wave,” said Jeffries.

Bater agreed that Brad Wall and his party were overwhelmingly strong.

“We did what we could, but we hit a brick wall and that’s just the way it is,” said Bater.