MOOSE JAW — The votes have been counted and — in a tighter campaign than Moose Jaw North — Moose Jaw Wakamow remains in Sask. Party hands as Megan Patterson beat her rivals Melissa Patterson and Mike Gardiner after the preliminary count on Oct. 28.
Patterson beat her Sask. NDP rival, Melissa Patterson, by only 908 votes and the Green Party’s Mike Gardiner by 3,399 votes. Overall, the Sask. Party’s Patterson received 3,626 total votes, the NDP’s Patterson received 2,718 votes, and Gardiner received 227 total votes.
Patterson , who announced in August 2023 that he won’t continue to run because of a motorcycle accident.
Following the announcement, the Moose Jaw Express reached out with a few questions.
Q: “How do you feel about the results of the election?”
A: “Well, I’m feeling excited and grateful,” Patterson replied. “Moose Jaw is my hometown, and I’ve always been interested in politics.” Patterson said she’s worked in numerous campaigns across Canada. “But” she added, “if there was one riding that I ever wanted to represent, it was my hometown in Moose Jaw Wakamow where I grew up.”
Q: “What would you like to say to your constituents?”
A: “I just want to thank (everyone) who spent a few minutes of their day with me at the door… and shared some of their challenges, their triumphs, and some of their concerns,” she said.
Patterson also thanked everyone who helped with the campaign. “There were so many people involved, and every little effort made a difference, was recognized, and was appreciated.
“And of course, I want to thank my family (including) my mom and dad,” she said. “My three boys were also very helpful and played a key part in the election. All of them came door knocking with me and took down a few (campaign) signs themselves (afterwards).”
“I just feel really blessed and honoured for all the contributions that I’ve received, and to finally be selected as the representative of Moose Jaw Wakamow.”
Q: “What is the first thing you would like to address in the Legislature?”
A: Patterson said her first priority is to ensure that she’s accessible to her constituents. “I need some place where people can find me if they want to come talk to me and I need to get a phone set up so they can call me.
“Once I get these operational things in place, I want to reach out to some key stakeholders, meet with them, and tour their operations,” she said. “There were a few places that I didn’t get a chance to (stop at) during the campaign that I would like to visit.”
Q: “How do you plan to stay connected with your constituents and keep them informed?”
A: Patterson said she’d be happy to attend meetings, events, and meet her constituents one-on-one. “I would just love for people to send me invitations to events and to highlight any opportunities to meet my constituents.”
Q: “What will the role mean for your family?”
A: “(My three) boys came down to the campaign office to see the results come in, but… I was one of the last (candidates to be) verified as the winner,” she said. Due to the late announcement, her boys returned home but woke to hear the good news the following morning and are now very excited to be part of her success.
Her husband — also a career politician who she met while campaigning a few years ago in Toronto — was, of course, “really excited” to hear the news.
Q: “Where did you watch the results and who were you with?”
A: Patterson joined Tim McLeod (Moose Jaw North) and Blaine McLeod (Lumsden-Morse) at the Sask. Party’s joint campaign office at 345 Main Street North to hear the results. “My mom and dad were there, my three boys were there, and we had a lot of volunteers,” she said. “It was really exciting.”
“I just want to say thank you to everyone who cast a ballot,” Patterson said in a message of appreciation.
“I want to say thank you to my opponents for their passion and their efforts to help improve the quality of life for the people in Moose Jaw Wakamow. I’d be happy to work with them to address any concerns they have.”
Until Patterson has a phone number and email address established, she can be reached through Tim McLeod’s office at 99 Diefenbaker Drive at 306-692-8884.
To view the full election results for the 2024 provincial election, visit .
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