1982 Saskatchewan general election

April 26, 1982 (1982-04-26)
64 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan 33 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	83.9% [1]
First party Second party   PC Leader Grant Devine Allan Blakeney Party Progressive Conservative New Democratic Leader since November 9, 1979 July 4, 1970 Leader's seat Estevan Regina Elphinstone Last election 17 44 Seats before 15 44 Seats won 55 9 Seat change 40 35 Popular vote 289,311 201,390 Percentage 54.07% 37.64% Swing 15.99pp 10.44pp
Premier before election Allan Blakeney New Democratic Premier after election Grant Devine Progressive Conservative

The 1982 Saskatchewan general election was held on April 26, 1982, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

The Progressive Conservative Party, led by Grant Devine, defeated the New Democratic Party government of Premier Allan Blakeney, which had governed the province since the 1971 election. The Tories won over half the popular vote, and a large majority in the legislature – the first time that the party had won an outright majority, and making Devine only the second Tory premier in the province's history. The only other time that the Tories had ever led a government was after the 1929 election, when James Anderson led a coalition government of Conservatives, Progressives and independents.

The NDP vote fell to its lowest level since 1938, and the party lost 35 of its 44 seats in the legislature – the second-worst defeat of a sitting government in the province's history, behind only the Saskatchewan Liberal Party's 38-seat loss in 1944. The highest-profile casualty was Deputy Premier Roy Romanow, who was ousted by Tory challenger Jo-Ann Zazelenchuk as part of the Tories' sweep of Saskatoon.

This election included the Aboriginal People's Party, a party focused on issues affecting Saskatchewan's First Nations. The APP's best showing would be in the Cumberland district of northeast Saskatchewan, finishing third – ahead of the Liberal candidate.

Popular feelings of alienation in Saskatchewan from Ottawa reached a high point in 1982. The provincial wing of the Western Canada Concept movement won more votes than the Saskatchewan Liberal Party candidate in over a third of Saskatchewan's constituencies; in three ridings the WCC candidate captured more than 1,000 votes. The WCC would disappear by 1988, and be replaced by the Western Independence Party, and later the Buffalo Party, in the 21st century.

Results

Note: * Party did not nominate candidates in previous election. ¹Richard Collver and Dennis Ham, MLAs of the short-lived "Unionest Party".

Riding results

Names in bold represent cabinet ministers and the Speaker. Party leaders are italicized. The symbol " ** " indicates MLAs who are not running again.

See also

• List of political parties in Saskatchewan
• List of Saskatchewan provincial electoral districts
• Saskatchewan Archives Board - Election Results By Electoral Division
• Elections Saskatchewan: Provincial Vote Summaries

References

Further reading

• Byers, R. B., ed. (1984). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 1982. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442671966.