For more information on Saskatoon Nutana, please click here.
The constituency now called Saskatoon Nutana was first contested in 1967 when Saskatoon first had multiple constituencies. In that election the seat was won by Clarence Estey of the Liberals over future NDP MLA and cabinet minister Wes Robbins. Estey lost to Robbins in 1971, and Robbins was re-elected in in 1975 and 1978. In 1978, Robbins was challenged by a young Agricultural Economics Professor from the U of S who was running for the PCs; has name was Grant Devine.
In 1982, Robbins retired and the seat was won by Evelyn Bacon of the PCs in the "Monday Night Massacre". Bacon only won by 105 votes. In 1986 Pat Atkinson stormed to victory in Saskatoon Nutana by easily defeating Bacon. Atkinson has since been re-elected in Saskatoon Nutana by wide margins in 1986, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007. Atkinson's margin of victory in 2007 was 52 percent compared to 29 percent for the Sask Party. Atkinson held a variety of cabinet posts in the Romanow and Calvert Governments, including Minister of Health, Minister of Education, Minister of Social Services, and Minister of Finance.
Atkinson announced earlier this year that she was not seeking re-election, making way for her constituency association president Cathy Sproule to run in her place. Sproule is being challenged by Zoria Broughton of the Sask Party. Broughton had run for the Liberals in Saskatoon Southeast in 2003. Some folks in the Sask Party believe that with the immense popularity of Premier Wall could push them over the top in Saskatoon Nutana this time. However the conventional wisdom is that Sproule will successful stave off the challenge, but it could be a close contest. An NDP win in Saskatoon Nutana is the most likely outcome, and any gain by the Sask Party here would be deemed an upset, and would likely mean that the Sask Party has won almost every seat in the Leg this time.
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