A University of Saskatchewan Political Studies professor doesn’t expect there will be any big changes in Saskatchewan for the September 20th federal election. Ken Coates says there are a few ridings to watch, though.

He notes there are a couple on the west side of Saskatoon with an interesting mix, where the issue comes down to the division between various parties. Coates explains that to the degree the NDP does well, it takes away from the Liberal vote, meaning the riding ends up with a Conservative MP, which is what happened in Saskatoon-West.

Another riding to watch is Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River, Buckley Belanger was a long standing NDP MLA, who stepped down to run as a federal Liberal in the northern riding. Coates says Belanger is extremely well known and highly regarded, and northern Saskatchewan voters sometimes vote for the person rather than voting on party lines, so he has a chance.