The Saskatchewan election is over, and no third party has taken over 4% of the popular vote. However, third parties still have a future in Saskatchewan.This election was Sask United's first general election, and their one candidate with a legislative seat, Nadine Wilson, finished a distant third in her riding as the Sask Party regained the seat by a comfortable margin. Despite a massive campaign, Sask United did not play a role in any riding. Even its leader, Jon Hromek, finished a distant third behind the Sask NDP candidate.Hromek received about 16% of the vote in the same riding where he ran in a by-election in 2023 and received 22%..It remains to be seen what Sask United's future will look like, as they only received 3.9% of the popular vote with 31 candidates.If Sask United ran a full slate of 61 candidates, they would theoretically receive around 7.7% of the popular vote.While concerns about vote-splitting were raised during the campaign, Sask United did not significantly impact the election's outcome. In the case of Christine Tell's loss, even if the Sask Party and Sask United votes were combined, she would have still lost by 96 votes..Saskatchewan Party loses key city seats, keeps rural strongholds.The Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan saw the biggest decrease in the popular vote of any third party, dropping from about 2.6% in 2020 to only 0.8% in 2024.Buffalo Party leader Phil Zajac responded to the Western Standard and said the party will keep moving forward."We will take a minute, schedule our next AGM [Annual General Meeting], and keep doing what we have been doing, holding the government accountable for what they do," said Zajac.The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan received 1% of the popular vote with only 11 candidates, and seven candidates finished third..Sask Party ministers face major defeats in Regina, Saskatoon.If the PCs had run candidates in all ridings, they could have had just over 8% of the popular vote, leaping over Sask United's 7.7% of the popular vote if they had run 61 candidates. Does the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan have a chance of becoming the province's centrist party? Their leader, Rose Buscholl, told the Western Standard that it's possible if they build constituency associations across the province over the next four years and get more media coverage. There's a chance for an opening for the PCs because the Sask Party will have to stay a centre-right party to keep its voting base happy and fight off losing support to Sask United and the Buffalo Party..Beck vows to continue fight after Sask NDP gains a dozen seats in Sask election.However, the PCs would steal voters from both the Sask NDP and the Sask Party by positioning themselves between the two major parties and using policies from both to create a true centrist platform for the 2028 election.Smaller third parties like the Saskatchewan Progress Party (formerly the Sask Liberals) and Greens failed to secure any seats or second-place finishes. Where they secured a third-place finish, only three parties were running in that riding.It goes without saying, but the two major parties took the lion's share of the vote, with the Sask Party at 52.5% and the Sask NDP at 40.2%. The next four years of Saskatchewan politics will be exciting, as no government in Saskatchewan history has won six straight governments..Moe pledges Sask Party to serve all Saskatchewanians after fifth straight election victory.Scott Moe led the Sask Party to five straight majority governments, tying Tommy Douglas' CCF government.Will the Sask Party go into the 2028 election with Scott Moe? That's a question only Scott Moe can answer.
