Voters were out in force on Monday in Estevan, voting for their values by selecting which candidate they wanted to represent them. The election saw the second-highest number of votes on record, with 41,294 ballots cast, just shy of the record 41,550 in the 2019 federal election.
We talked with some of the local voters to see what they wanted from the newly elected government:
Drew
"I think the federal government hasn't been focusing enough on ensuring Trans rights in Canada. So that's the focus that I'd like."
Kelly
"I want the federal government to focus on health care. We have absolutely no money in health care. We are in a crisis situation with a nursing shortage."
Caitlin
"The big thing that I want the federal government to focus on would be infertility health care throughout Canada, and specifically Saskatchewan, because we don't have any coverage for that. So, just a wider spread of health care equalization between all of the provinces in Canada. Instead of just one province out east."
"Like right now currently the only real support that they have is in like the north or like the east and stuff, and some in Vancouver and stuff, but none of it is focused within central Canada. So I currently had to spend quite a bit of money just to have my child, around $25,000, and none of that was supported by our government."
Marie
"Sovereignty, absolutely. Health care. Education. And let's just take care of each other. Don't forget Saskatchewan and the prairie provinces, please."
Sheldon
"I want the government to focus on the West a little bit more than the East and try and help out what we have going on here. You know, everybody's interest, not just out the opposite direction. Let's make some changes."
Joe
"I'm hoping for higher wages and more work anyway. Drop the taxes."
Sean
"I just want to see affordability. Just across the board, really housing, food. Let's get the economy going."
Miiko
"It's health care. Because I think we need more doctors. So the emergency area does not take too long."
Ashton
"I'm really hoping for this election that there's going to be some change because under the last 10 years, even with a new face, it's the same party. It's the same people, same cabinet, same everything. There's going to be no difference. So I'm very much hoping for a change."
"I know that some people have been not looking forward to maybe the idea of private and public (healthcare), if that's even been a talk, because that'd be something I'd be very much interested in, or even getting more doctors or more people in hospitals, just to keep it so that's not, you know, months and months waiting lists for people."
"We can get along. We can figure it out regardless of who wins or who doesn't win. Just as long as everybody's happy, we can figure it out. Keep going as a country. You know, Canada first."
Bryce
"My biggest hope is that we can get the price of goods to come down a bit. If we're going to the grocery store and not going to break the bank, I would love to see that. That would be my biggest concern."
After all of the votes were counted yesterday, the federal Liberal Party has won their 4th government, with Prime Minister Mark Carney at the helm. He will be leading a minority government with 169 seats, short of the needed 172 to form a majority, when Parliament resumes on May 26. In the Souris Moose-Mountain riding, Conservative candidate Steven Bonk won his MP seat with 34,793 votes.