Premier Scott Moe addressed the strong showing by the Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan, formerly known as Wexit, in its first provincial election. 

Moe has said that he wants to work towards more independence and autonomy in Saskatchewan, which has raised concerns about whether he was wavering towards the Buffalo Party base when it comes to separation. 

He said on Tuesday that, while he wants to represent everyone in the province, separation is not on the table. 

“To have Saskatchewan separating from the Nation of Canada, it doesn't really achieve some of the challenges that we have,” Moe said.  

“Saskatchewan separating from Canada does nothing to help us build a pipeline across this nation to service other Canadians with some of the most sustainable, competitively-priced energy in the world.” 

Other examples Moe gave where separation wouldn’t solve the problem is the transportation of potash and sustainability initiatives in the province. 

Moe said he understands the sentiment that people are upset at the federal government, but he said an end to the issues is coming to a head. 

When it came to the province’s independence and autonomy, Moe pointed out some of the initiatives the provincial government has already done including appointing a provincial chief firearms commissioner to enforce federal gun laws. 

He said they would like to look at federal initiatives when it comes to taxation to work out what the federal government will collect and what the province will collect. He also pointed out the supreme court challenge of the carbon tax as part of the province’s independence. 

The Buffalo Party finished with the third most share of votes after Monday’s election with 11,055 votes, or 2.89 per cent of the votes, before the counting of the mail-in ballots. 

In the Cypress Hills, Kindersley, Estevan and Cannington ridings, the Buffalo Party finished second in voting, behind the Saskatchewan Party and ahead of the opposition NDP. 

“In this particular initiative, they did very well in a number of seats,” Moe said.  

“I can't remember the last time that an NDP party finished third in seats across this province, let alone a number of seats.”