Constituency Profile: Regina Elphinstone-Centre

Regina Elphinstone-Centre constituency is outlined in red on the map above.

For more information on Regina Elphinstone-Centre, please click here.

When one sets foot in north-central Regina, they are setting foot on NDP holy ground. It is the mighty fortress known in the past as Regina Elphinstone, and today is called Regina Elphinstone-Centre. It is the mightiest electoral stronghold of the Saskatchewan NDP. It is almost legendary in status and mythical in quality, because the seat has had an unbroken string of CCF/NDP MLAs since 1944, and the winning plurality for the NDP in this seat is usually very large, rarely under 60 percent of the vote. In the "Monday Night Massacre" election in which the Saskatchewan NDP were reduced to 8 seats in the Legislature, Regina Elphinstone was among the 8. The most famous former MLA for this constituency is the late Allan Blakeney, Premier of Saskatchewan from 1971 to 1982 and Rhodes Scholar, who passed away this past spring.
The former Regina Centre constituency is also another Saskatchewan NDP fortress, having also remained in the NDP column in 1982. In 2003 Regina Elphinstone and Regina Centre were fused together to form Regina Elphinstone-Centre. The only MLA to date for this riding is Warren McCall, who was first elected in Regina Elphinstone in February 2001, after the previous MLA, former Deputy Premier Dwain Lingenfelter resigned to pursue opportunities elsewhere. McCall was easily re-elected in 2003 with 66 percent of the vote and 62 percent in 2007. McCall was a cabinet minister in the Calvert Government, holding the portfolios of Advanced Education and Employment, and Corrections and Public Safety. In opposition, Warren has critic duties for Crown Corporations, First Nations and Metis Relations, and Provincial Secretary.

McCall is being challenged this time by Bill Stevenson of the Saskatchewan Party, and Ingrid Alesich of the Green Party. Alesich also ran for the Greens in this riding in 2007 and got 5 percent of the vote. There will be no Liberal this time in Regina Elphinstone-Centre, which will probably do little to affect the outcome in this constituency. Stevenson has been campaigning hard for several months, and with the strong momentum behind the Sask Party provincewide, it is likely that Stevenson will considerably close the gap with McCall on November 7th. However Warren is no pushover. He has solid roots in Regina Elphinstone-Centre, being the third generation of his family to live and work in the constituency. Today one can still drive by his grandmother's former home in the middle of the riding on Elphinstone Street, a modest, unassuming home painted in white. Warren has also worked hard over the past decade as the MLA for this area, having been voted "Best Regina MLA" in the prairie dog. McCall is also the holder of the social gospel tradition for the Saskatchewan NDP; it is difficult to imagine this flame being snuffed out on November 7th. Although McCall's victory may not be as spectacular as in past elections, we should still expect to see him in the winner's circle this time.