Saskatchewan general election, 1971

Saskatchewan general election, 1971

June 23, 1971

60 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan 31 seats needed for a majority   First party Second party   LIB Leader Allan Blakeney Ross Thatcher Party New Democratic Liberal Leader since July 4, 1970 September 24, 1959 Leader's seat Regina Centre Morse Last election 24 35 Seats won 45 15 Seat change +21 –20 Popular vote 248,978 193,864 Percentage 55.00% 42.82% Swing +10.65pp –2.75pp

Premier before election Ross Thatcher Liberal Premier-designate Allan Blakeney New Democratic

The Saskatchewan general election of 1971 was the seventeenth provincial election in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 23, 1971, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

Under the leadership of Allan Blakeney, the New Democratic Party of Saskatchewan returned to power after seven years in opposition. The NDP won a majority government, increasing its share of the popular vote by over 10 percentage points.

The Liberal government of Premier Ross Thatcher more or less held its share of the popular vote, but lost a significant number of seats in the legislature in part because of the continuing decline in the share of the vote won by the Progressive Conservative Party, now led by Ed Nasserden.

Ross Thatcher died on July 22, 1971, just shy of a month since losing the election.

Results

Party		Party Leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular Vote
				1967	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change
	New Democratic	Allan Blakeney	60	24	45	+87.5%	248,978	55.00%	+10.65%
	Liberal	Ross Thatcher	60	35	15	-42.9%	193,864	42.82%	-2.75%
	Progressive Conservative	Ed Nasserden	16	–	–	–	9,659	2.13%	-7.65%
	Independent		1	*	–	*	189	0.04%	*
	Communist		1	*	–	*	46	0.01%	*
Total			138	59	60	+1.7%	452,736	100%
Source: Elections Saskatchewan

Note: * Party did not nominate candidates in previous election.

See also

• List of political parties in Saskatchewan
• List of Saskatchewan provincial electoral districts