09 09 17	MDF+ 131.137.245.198
Nick's comments actually confirm 90% of the previous poster's comment. Palliser is actually the least rural of the four Regina seats, with only 10% of the vote coming from the rural polls. Now, the previous poster did overstate Moose Jaw's support for the NDP based on the last election. However, the last election saw a contest between two former Moose Jaw mayors - a rematch with the same results as last time. In the previous two elections, when the Conservative candidate was from Regina, the Tories did not do as well in the Jaw (once against another Reginan, once against a Moose Javian.)
	09 09 14	Nick J Boragina 198.96.35.219
A quote from another poster: ?Palliser is NOT a rural riding. Is is about 50%, the NDP voting city of Moose Jaw, 40% the southwest corner or Regina and only about 10% a few hobby farms in between Regina and Moose Jaw? I love it when people shoot off at the mouth, cite numbers, and don't do any research. Lets dig down and find the real numbers. According to Elections Canada's poll by poll results... Regina voted as follows NDP - 4665 CPC - 4422 Lib - 3606 Grn - 729 Moose Jaw as follows CPC - 6586 Lib - 1287 NDP - 5118 Grn - 647 And the Rural Areas as follows CPC - 3151 Lib - 596 NDP - 1082 Grn - 204 What have we learned? This riding is 41.7% Regina, 42.6% Moose Jaw and 15.6% Rural. Moose Jaw voted CPC. Regina came within 250 votes of doing the same.
	09 09 07	Scott D 204.83.49.29
Likely a Conservative hold. The NDP support in the riding has continually dropped since it was first created and few signs show that this is going to change.
	09 09 05	MDF+ 24.72.24.21
I wonder where Stevo is from? Outside of Wascana and Denesthene-Missinippi, most of the remaining federal Liberal vote in Saskatchewan tends to go Conservative as a second choice, therefore the weakness of Dion tended to work to the advantage of the Tories in most of Saskatchewan. As to Observer's question, there are two main reasons the NDP lost Saskatchewan seats over the last few elections. First, like any government, the Calvert NDP had baggage which tended to hurt the federal party as well. The NDP's best federal showings in Saskatchewan over the past several elections have been when they were out of power provincially - peaking at 10 of 14 seats in 1988. Second, the last NDP MP for Palliser, Dick Proctor, made a terrible mistake in opposing the last redistribution here. He did have legitimate concerns. Several of the rural seats were stupidly drawn - including a Moose Jaw seat that would have been a thin strip from the US border to the outskirts of Saskatoon. But the redistribution would have established six principallly urban seats in Regina and Saskatoon. Five of those seats - and possibly the Moose Jaw seat as well - would have been much stronger prospects for the NDP.
	09 09 05	Stevo 99.251.76.167
Observer - are you for real? I could probably list ~75 ‘urban middle-class seats’ that voted Conservative in the last couple elections, if I cared to do so. You think every one of the Conservatives' 143 seats look like Little House on the Prairie?? As to Palliser - if the NDP couldn't attract enough Liberal voters to cross over during the Liberals' worst popular vote in Canadian electoral history (or even get close - the spread between CPC and NDP in Palliser was over 10 points), then it won't do so in the next election either.
	09 09 02	LRT 171.159.192.10
I am expecting an NDP pick up here, especially if there is a long campaign or the minority government survives past the fall. Palliser is a rural/urban seat, which has the city of Moose Jaw and parts of South Western Regina. I'm hearing that Ray Boughen is out of favour with the Conservative establishment but they won't make any moves against him because he is personally popular (former mayor of Moose Jaw), so I would be somewhat suprised if he can put together a strong team - as others have pointed Boughen is an older candidate, and a lot of Conservative activists will probably work for other candidates who are more highly favoured and will have more time to grant favours to them. The NDP appears to running Noah Evanchuk (he has not been nominated yet, but so far is the only challenger). Evanchuk was part of the Ryan Meili campaign for provincial NDP leader and has tapped the same volunter base - so he has a very experienced, but also young and energetic core of people around him. All this has supplied Evanchuk with an excellent fundraising machine, and gained all kinds of goodwill with the national party. Palliser will likely be a priority seat for the NDP's national campaign. But let's assume nothing game changing happens in the National campaigns, Evanchuk can win this seat on the strength of his team - his volunteer base should be able to identify and get the NDP vote to the polls better than prior NDP candidates in the same riding, and much better than Boughen. Another factor in Evanchuk's favour (and the NDP in Sask generally) is that people should be starting to forget about the perceived problems of the former Calvert government. I'm also hearing some rumblings from small-c conservatives that Harper's bailouts and Brad Wall's potash forecasts are causing some discontent - that vote probably doesn't migrate to the NDP, but may stay home on election day.
	09 03 01	Observer 89.180.187.185
To be frank I had never been in Palliser or even Sask. I thought Palliser was a rural riding because of what EP said. Anyway, if Palliser is a urban riding why in the hell it voted for the Conservatives? Very few middle-class urban ridings vote Conservative. I don't understand how a urban riding in a former NDP stronghold province can vote right-wing. When the NDP was gaining seats and increasing its vote share all over the country, it lost all the seats it had in Sask in the last 3 federal elections. Anyone has an explanation for this?
	09 08 26	Farmer-Labour1934 216.197.144.154
Palliser is the second most urban riding in Saskatchewan after Wascana. Some people forget that Moose Jaw is a major centre in Saskatchewan - and a beautiful city as well - and the federal NDP vote in MJ has not fallen below 35% in the last three federal elections. Palliser has the lowest Conservative vote by percentage of all the ridings in Saskatchewan in 2008. The longer the wait until the next election the more the riding will swing in the NDPs favour as the honeymoon period of both the Ottawa Conservatives and the Saskatchewan Party provincial government comes to an end. 1,653 votes migrating from Conservative to NDP would swing the seat. It will be tough - as the Conservatives will remain popular in Sask. but this will be one of the first seats in Sask. that any ebbing of the Tory tide will leave in the NDP's hands. The Tories will bleed votes to the Liberals as Dion is out of the way and was very unpopular in Saskatchewan and the NDP as the majority of voters in Saskatchewan who switch votes do so between the NDP and the Conservatives. It will not be a landslide but it will go NDP.
	09 08 25	DL 173.32.33.208
Contrary to what some people seem to think, Palliser is NOT a rural riding. Is is about 50%, the NDP voting city of Moose Jaw, 40% the southwest corner or Regina and only about 10% a few hobby farms in between Regina and Moose Jaw. The NDP only lost 42% to 36% last time and since then Tory support has declined across the country. The likely NDP candidate in young lawyer Noah Evanchuk and its likely that this will be the number one NDP target in Saskatchewan. The octogenerian Tory incumbent has made no impact and is rumoured to be considering retirement.
	09 08 24	Observer 89.180.69.237
I completely disagree calling Palliser for the Conservatives. It is right that Palliser is voting strongly for the Conservative Party in recent times but don't forget the NDP tradition in this riding. A small swing from the Liberals and Conservatives can put this riding in the NDP column. I am sure the NDP leadership are now going to focus much more in rural Sk.
	09 08 24	EP 72.55.153.178
With the NDP becoming more and more of an urban party, it cedes its traditional territory in rural Saskatchewan ridings like this one. This leaves the Conservative Party with no competition. Unless a regional dissent party appears and starts to field federal candidates, this rural Saskatchewan riding wills stay in the “solidly Conservative column for the foreseeable future.