2017 Battlefords—Lloydminster federal by-election

A by-election was held in the federal riding of Battlefords—Lloydminster in Saskatchewan on December 11, 2017 following the resignation of Conservative MP Gerry Ritz

2017 Battlefords—Lloydminster federal by-election

December 11, 2017
Seat of Battlefords—Lloydminster
Turnout	27.05% ( 39.46pp)
NDP Candidate Rosemarie Falk Matt Fedler Party Conservative New Democratic Popular vote 8,965 1,698 Percentage 69.56% 13.17% Swing 8.55pp 4.44pp   LPC Ind. Candidate Larry Ingram Ken Finlayson Party Liberal Independent Popular vote 1,345 681 Percentage 10.44% 5.28% Swing 6.04pp N/A
MP before election Gerry Ritz Conservative Elected MP Rosemarie Falk Conservative

The seat was held for the Conservatives, with Rosemarie Falk winning the seat on an increased majority.[1]

The by election was held on the same day as 3 others across Canada; Bonavista—Burin—Trinity in Newfoundland and Labrador, Scarborough—Agincourt in Ontario and South Surrey—White Rock in British Columbia.

Background

Constituency

Battlefords—Lloydminster in Saskatchewan.

Battlefords—Lloydminster is a large rural constituency in Central-Western Saskatchewan. It includes the communities of North Battleford, Battleford and Unity; as well as the Saskatchewan portion of Lloydminster.

Representation

Battlefords—Lloydminster is considered a safe seat for the Tories. Ritz had been Battlefords—Lloydminster's only Member of Parliament, holding the riding since its creation for the 1997 election, first as a Reform Party of Canada MP, then on behalf of the Canadian Alliance and since 2003 as a Conservative. He served as Agriculture Minister in Stephen Harper's cabinet from 2007 to 2015.

Campaign

On August 30, 2017, it was reported that Battlefords—Lloydminster MP Gerry Ritz had asked not to be included in the reshuffled Conservative shadow cabinet. Ritz confirmed the next day that he would resign from parliament.[2] The seat was vacated on October 2, 2017.

5 candidates won the election.[3]

Former parliamentary staffer Rosemarie Falk defeated[4] Langham Mayor John Hildebrand, small business owner Aron Klassen, Kindersley CAO Bernie Morton, and farmer Richard Nelson to win the Conservative nomination.[5] Meadow Lake MLA and former Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River MP Jeremy Harrison was rumoured to be a candidate for the Conservative nomination,[6] but did not make his intentions known before the cut-off date to join the race.[5]

Rodeo cowboy and rancher Ken Finlayson's bid for the Conservative nomination[5] was rejected by the party over concern that he was not a "team player".[7] Finlayson ran as an independent.[8]

Professional MMA fighter and athlete Matt Fedler was named the NDP candidate.[9]

Contractor and former RM of Mervin councillor Larry Ingram was acclaimed as the Liberal Party candidate.[10] Ingram previously ran for the party in Battlefords—Lloydminster in 2015.

The Speaker's warrant regarding the vacancy was received on October 3, 2017; under the Parliament of Canada Act the writ for a by-election had to be dropped no later than April 1, 2018, 180 days after the Chief Electoral Officer was officially notified of the vacancy via a warrant issued by the Speaker.[11]

Results

Canadian federal by-election, 11 December 2017 Resignation of Gerry Ritz
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rosemarie Falk	8,965	69.56	+8.55
	New Democratic	Matt Fedler	1,698	13.17	-4.44
	Liberal	Larry Ingram	1,345	10.44	-6.04
	Independent	Ken Finlayson	681	5.28	–
	Green	Yvonne Potter-Pihach	200	1.55	-0.16
Total valid votes/Expense limit			12,889	100.00
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			12,889	27.05	-39.46
Eligible voters			47,651
	Conservative hold		Swing		+6.49

2015 result

2015 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Gerry Ritz	20,547	61.01	-4.94	$70,973.30
	New Democratic	Glenn Tait	5,930	17.61	-10.45	$6,284.73
	Liberal	Larry Ingram	5,550	16.48	+13.10	$17,912.01
	Independent	Doug Anguish	1,076	3.19	n/a	–
	Green	Mikaela Tenkink	575	1.71	-0.90	$56.97
Total valid votes/Expense limit			33,678	99.45		$214,778.83
Total rejected ballots			186	0.55	–
Turnout			33,864	66.51	–
Eligible voters			50,917
	Conservative hold		Swing		+2.76
Source: Elections Canada[12][13]

References

1. Brown, Angela. "Falk retains seat in Battlefords-Lloydminster". battlefordsNOW. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
2. The Canadian Press (August 30, 2017). "Conservative MP Gerry Ritz to announce his resignation, sources say". CBC News. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
3. Jellicoe, Kevin Menz and Jennifer (2017-12-07). "Five candidates battling for Battlefords-Lloydminster seat". Saskatoon. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
4. Cairns, John (November 11, 2017). "Rosemarie Falk wins Conservative nomination in Battlefords-Lloydminster". Battlefords News-Optimist. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
5. "Scramble is on to nominate by-election candidates". Battlefords News-Optimist. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
6. Mandryk, Murray (September 9, 2017). "City byelection won't tell change NDP fortunes". Regina Leader Post. PostMedia. Retrieved September 17, 2017. With former economy minister Jeremy Harrison abandoning cabinet and now his Sask. Party leadership hopes, the speculation is that he may now resign the provincial seat he has held since 2007 to run in Gerry Ritz's now vacant Battlefords-Lloydminster seat.
7. Cairns, John. "Ken Finlayson's Conservative bid vetoed by party". Battlefords News-Optimist. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
8. Cairns, John. "Ken Finlayson running as independent". Battlefords News-Optimist. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
9. Cairns, John (November 17, 2017). "Matt Fedler running for the NDP". Battlefords News-Optimist. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
10. Cairns, John (November 14, 2017). "Larry Ingram running again for the Liberals". Battlefords News-Optimist. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
11. "Vacant Seats in the House of Commons Since the 2015 General Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
12. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Battlefords—Lloydminster, 30 September 2015
13. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 15 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine