Moe's first order of business: Organize his cabinet
CBC
The Saskatchewan legislative assembly will have an unfamiliar look when it resumes sitting late next month: The opposition NDP has nearly doubled its seat count, while Premier Scott Moe will have to fill a cabinet decimated by retirements and election defeats.
Trusted names who sometimes carried heavy portfolios are gone, and Moe is facing the prospect of a cabinet with likely only one MLA from Saskatoon and none from Regina.
After an initial mail-in ballot count, the NDP's April ChiefCalf has taken a slim lead in Saskatoon Westview over incumbent David Buckingham.
Ken Cheveldayoff seems likely to hold off a challenge from NDP hopeful Alana Wakula in Saskatoon Willowgrove. He leads by 178 votes before the final vote count on Nov. 9.
Cheveldayoff, the longest-serving MLA (21 years), ahead of Moe, Jeremy Harrison and Jim Reiter (13 years).
If the current outstanding races hold form, the Saskatchewan Party will have 34 seats in the assembly and the NDP will have 27, nearly double its count before the vote.
In the process, the NDP knocked off all five sitting cabinet ministers from Saskatoon and Regina:
All five had experience in multiple portfolios, including Merriman in Health and Tell in Corrections and Policing.
Moe also has to replace cabinet veterans Donna Harpauer, Don McMorris, Dustin Duncan and Joe Hargrave, as well as recent ministers Don Morgan and Gordon Wyant.
Nine more Saskatchewan Party MLAs did not seek re-election.
Nine cabinet ministers were re-elected: Colleen Young, David Marit, Everett Hindley, Jeremy Cockrill, Jeremy Harrison, Jim Reiter, Lori Carr, Terry Jenson and Tim McLeod.
Moe's last cabinet had 17 posts, leaving eight spots open at present. Seven more Saskatchewan Party incumbents were re-elected, and only Warren Kaeding has experience in cabinet.
Cheveldayoff has been in and out of cabinet over the years, first in 2007 after the Saskatchewan Party formed government. He ran for leadership in 2018 but finished third. Moe appointed him to cabinet after the leadership race but was shuffled out after the 2020 election.
Cheveldayoff would be the only government MLA representing what is considered a seat in Saskatoon or Regina. He is a safe bet to be in Moe's new cabinet.
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