CBC - Saskatchewan Votes 2003

CONSTITUENCY: THE BATTLEFORDS

Candidate

Party

Vote Count

Pop. Vote

Len Taylor

New Democratic Party

3037

43%

Jack Hillson

Liberal Party

2033

28.79%

Larry William Doke

Saskatchewan Party

1853

26.24%

Gordon C. Elias

Western Indep Party

139

1.97%

Last Update Wed Nov 5 11:14:01 CST 2003

46 of 46 polls reporting

THE BATTLEFORDS

Candidates:

  NDP: Len Taylor

  SASK: Larry William Doke

  Liberal: Jack Hillson

  WIP: Gordon Elias

Current MLA: This is a new constituency. Jack Hillson (Ind) is the MLA for North Battleford. Wally Lorenz (Sask) is the MLA for Battleford-Cut Knife.

Constituency Profile: Located in NW Saskatchewan, the constituency is the agricultural service center for northwestern Saskatchewan. Other major industries include tourism, meat packing and manufacturing. The Parson's Industrial Park is home to a number of companies that produce products for markets in Canada, USA and Asia. North Battleford is also a popular community for seniors and retirees.

Issues: In 2001, hundreds of people in the Battlefords became sick after drinking contaminated water. Since then, there has been a government-commissioned inquiry into the incident. One of the recommendations of that inquiry was to build a new sewage treatment plant, which will cost millions of dollars. The provincial government has said it will not share the costs of building the plant with the city. Jack Hillson, the Liberal candidate for The Battlefords, believes that the government's handling of the water crisis will be the overriding issue in this election.

Political History: This is a new constituency, which includes polls from the Battleford-Cut Knife and North Battleford ridings. Jack Hillson was elected as a Liberal in 1999. The Liberals joined the NDP to form a coalition majority government, and for a period of time Hillson held a cabinet portfolio. But he became disenchanted with the leadership of the Liberal Party and the coalition agreement. He left the Liberal caucus and opted to sit independently on the other side of the house. Since then, a new Liberal party leader has been elected, and Hillson is again running as a Liberal.

The Battlefords:


1986-1995:	NDP
1982-1986:	PC
1975-1982:	NDP

North Battleford:


1996-2003:	LIB
1995-1996:	NDP

Battleford-Cutknife:


1999-2003:	SASK
1991-1999:	NDP

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