The riding of Souris-Moose Mountain saw a landslide win for Conservative candidate Steven Bonk in the federal election last night, as he took approximately 84 percent of the vote.
MLA for Weyburn-Bengough Mike Weger was with Bonk at the Weyburn Legion last night as results came in. He describes his reaction to Bonk’s election, saying he is pleased with the results, and the opportunity to work with Steven Bonk as the elected MP.
“It was nice to be able to congratulate him in person, of course, and we had some discussions already about how nice it is going to be to be able to work together on issues that affect our area.”
"I really do look forward to working with him and also Mayor Jeff Richards was there as well and the three of us had discussions about how we will have some regular meetings about the issues that affect Weyburn and area residents. So I think that's really a positive thing that comes out of this. I'm looking forward to that relationship.”
Regarding the federal result, Weger says working with the Liberal party will present challenges, but the provincial government will continue to work with the federal government to ensure Saskatchewan residents are properly represented.
“I think our provincial government has been a very strong voice for the province of Saskatchewan in opposition to the Liberal government of the past and I think you can expect it will continue to do that. But again, we have to respect the democratic process and we'll work with the federal government for as long as they happen to remain in power.”
While the local MLA and MP positions have remained conservative in the recent elections, the positions have seen some turnover. Last years provincial election saw Weger take over as incumbent for Dustin Duncan, and now Bonk taking over federally for Dr. Robert kitchen.
Weger says the turnover can bring new ideas, skills, and connections which is a positive.
“I hope that's what the constituents have seen with myself, with a little different approach to being available in the community. And having Steven Bonk, he's come down to Weyburn a few times. I was at one of his campaign events and then having the fact that he had a viewing party in Weyburn last night, it's also a good sign that he's reaching out to the Weyburn area residents."
He concludes, encouraging constituents to reach out to their elected representatives.
“We want to hear from you. I've got a constituency office in town. I'm not sure what Steven Bonk's plan is, if he's going to maintain one in town, but reach out to your constituent when you have concerns, good, bad, or just for a chat. That's what we're here for. And we definitely want to be engaged with the community and make sure that we know what's going on in our area so that when I come up to Regina or when Stephen goes off to Ottawa, that he's taking those concerns and those opinions and he's voicing them at that level.”