The idea for this came from a couple of us discussing our observations of voter participation in Saskatchewan, and the rest of the country. Yes, some of us actually do this for fun.
As the conversation rolled around and we debated what we considered in the hits and misses in the past two major election campaigns - the 2008 US Presidential Election and the 2011 Canadian General Election - we eventually arrived at a single conclusion: we should build something that is non-partisan and puts all the information 'unspun' in one place. Let's create a place where political and non-political people alike, can quite simply and easily judge for themselves.
New pages will be rolling out over the next few weeks to point you directly to information you may want to find. Direct links to social media, information rounded up and presented by constituency, and links to other things like the list uploaded to today named: Other Governments and Organizations.
As we meander through the last few weeks of summer - the time before our airways become jammed with election spin - we trust you will find some interesting and helpful pages here you will be want to come back to again and again.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
The rising cost of living in Saskatchewan cities
What issues could emerge to help shape the outcome of the November 7 provincial election? It is very possible that the rising cost of living in Saskatchewan cities has the potential to become a major election issue. There have been many anecdotal stories in the past few years of sharp increases in rent in Regina and Saskatoon. Where individuals were paying $400 or $500 a month five years ago for a one bedroom suite, those same suites are now in the $800 to $900 per month range. This inflationary trend is being driven by two forces - surging demand for rental accommodations from new people flooding into the province for employment, and a massive switch in recent years of apartment buildings to condominium units.
There are very different positions being taken by the majority parties on this potentially hot button issue. The governing Saskatchewan Party favours solutions aimed at providing incentives for builders to build new rental units. The opposition New Democrats have come out in favour of some form of rent control. Therefore it will be interesting to see how voters respond to these options, if higher rents become an election issue. It may very well be that this issue becomes overshadowed by the likely mudslinging that is bound to break out as the election campaign gets rolling. But it may also be that rising rents is a sleeper issue, one that bounces into the public consciousness and into the open once we are into the writ period.
No suggestion will be made here to suggest that this issue will fundamentally change the outcome that most pundits forecast in this election. That said, maybe urban voters will make more of an effort to vote this time, and significantly raise voter turnout based solely on this issue. Also, rising rents could prove to be a decisive factor in close urban constituencies, where the outcome could be determined by a shifting of 200 votes in one direction or another. Once again, it will be very interesting to see if rising rents becomes a key election issue this fall.
There are very different positions being taken by the majority parties on this potentially hot button issue. The governing Saskatchewan Party favours solutions aimed at providing incentives for builders to build new rental units. The opposition New Democrats have come out in favour of some form of rent control. Therefore it will be interesting to see how voters respond to these options, if higher rents become an election issue. It may very well be that this issue becomes overshadowed by the likely mudslinging that is bound to break out as the election campaign gets rolling. But it may also be that rising rents is a sleeper issue, one that bounces into the public consciousness and into the open once we are into the writ period.
No suggestion will be made here to suggest that this issue will fundamentally change the outcome that most pundits forecast in this election. That said, maybe urban voters will make more of an effort to vote this time, and significantly raise voter turnout based solely on this issue. Also, rising rents could prove to be a decisive factor in close urban constituencies, where the outcome could be determined by a shifting of 200 votes in one direction or another. Once again, it will be very interesting to see if rising rents becomes a key election issue this fall.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Priming the Pump for November 7 - Part 1
We here at SaskPolitics1 expect that the 2011 provincial election campaign will begin in earnest after Labour Day on September 5. While the election writ won't be dropped until the end of September, you can be sure that full electioneering will commence after that long weekend. Therefore Sask Politics 1 is going to write a short series of articles to 'prime the pump' or set the stage for the upcoming election.
For those of you who are newcomers to Saskatchewan politics, there are really only 2 (maybe 3 depending on your interpretation) eras in Saskatchewan politics since the province was founded in 1905.The first era lasted from 1905 to 1944 and was marked by the Saskatchewan Liberal dynasty. Except for the Conservative minority government produced in 1929, the Liberals governed Saskatchewan during this entire period. The Liberals actually won the largest number of seats in the 1929 election, but the Conservatives overthrew this government in a non-confidence motion and governed for the next 5 years in a coalition with Progressives and independents. Thus the Saskatchewan Liberal Party won every election in this period - 1905, 1908, 1912, 1917, 1921, 1925, 1929, 1934 and 1938. This political era ended with the onset of the Great Depression. The trauma experienced by Saskatchewan people during that terrible time caused a fundamental realignment of voting patterns.
The second era of Saskatchewan history began in 1944 and remains to the present day, thus far. 1944 marked the rise of the Saskatchewan CCF party to power. The CCF governed until 1964, then changed its name to the New Democratic Party, and has since governed the province from 1971 to 1982 and from 1991 to 2007. This political era has thus been dominated by the CCF/NDP, and is marked by a curious pattern. The pattern goes something like this; the CCF/NDP govern for a minimum of 3 back to back terms - Tommy Douglas had 5 terms, Allan Blakeney 3, and between them Roy Romanow and Lorne Calvert got 4. The CCF/NDP are then replaced by a free enterprise anti-NDP party for a maximum of 2 back to back terms - the Ross Thatcher Liberals governed from 1964 to 1971, the Grant Devine Progressive Conservatives ruled from 1982 to 1991, and the Brad Wall Saskatchewan Party has been in power since 2007.
What all of this means is that according to the pattern of current Saskatchewan politics, Brad Wall and the Sask Party are on track to win a second majority government on November 7, 2011. This coming election then will set the stage for the truly interesting provincial election in 2015. If the Saskatchewan Party can win a 3rd term in 2015, then the pattern of politics that emerged from the Great Depression will be over. But if the Saskatchewan NDP can make a comeback and win power in 2015, then the current pattern of Saskatchewan politics will be renewed, and its business as usual. Perhaps the results this November 7 will give us a clear indication of the shape of things to come in 2015.
For those of you who are newcomers to Saskatchewan politics, there are really only 2 (maybe 3 depending on your interpretation) eras in Saskatchewan politics since the province was founded in 1905.The first era lasted from 1905 to 1944 and was marked by the Saskatchewan Liberal dynasty. Except for the Conservative minority government produced in 1929, the Liberals governed Saskatchewan during this entire period. The Liberals actually won the largest number of seats in the 1929 election, but the Conservatives overthrew this government in a non-confidence motion and governed for the next 5 years in a coalition with Progressives and independents. Thus the Saskatchewan Liberal Party won every election in this period - 1905, 1908, 1912, 1917, 1921, 1925, 1929, 1934 and 1938. This political era ended with the onset of the Great Depression. The trauma experienced by Saskatchewan people during that terrible time caused a fundamental realignment of voting patterns.
The second era of Saskatchewan history began in 1944 and remains to the present day, thus far. 1944 marked the rise of the Saskatchewan CCF party to power. The CCF governed until 1964, then changed its name to the New Democratic Party, and has since governed the province from 1971 to 1982 and from 1991 to 2007. This political era has thus been dominated by the CCF/NDP, and is marked by a curious pattern. The pattern goes something like this; the CCF/NDP govern for a minimum of 3 back to back terms - Tommy Douglas had 5 terms, Allan Blakeney 3, and between them Roy Romanow and Lorne Calvert got 4. The CCF/NDP are then replaced by a free enterprise anti-NDP party for a maximum of 2 back to back terms - the Ross Thatcher Liberals governed from 1964 to 1971, the Grant Devine Progressive Conservatives ruled from 1982 to 1991, and the Brad Wall Saskatchewan Party has been in power since 2007.
What all of this means is that according to the pattern of current Saskatchewan politics, Brad Wall and the Sask Party are on track to win a second majority government on November 7, 2011. This coming election then will set the stage for the truly interesting provincial election in 2015. If the Saskatchewan Party can win a 3rd term in 2015, then the pattern of politics that emerged from the Great Depression will be over. But if the Saskatchewan NDP can make a comeback and win power in 2015, then the current pattern of Saskatchewan politics will be renewed, and its business as usual. Perhaps the results this November 7 will give us a clear indication of the shape of things to come in 2015.
Our first pre-Provincial Election Poll
We've posted our first pre-provincial election poll in the northeast corner of this website. We are asking you which party you plan to vote for on November 7, 2011. The poll is open for one week! Please be sure to vote and to spread the word about this website!
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