Saskatoon mayoral race results show a divided city
Jacques Marcoux | CBC News | Posted: October 31, 2016 7:01 PM | Last Updated: October 31, 2016
2nd place Don Atchison had majority of early voter support, CBC analysis shows
Rookie Saskatoon mayor-elect Charlie Clark may have clinched a victory over a well-entrenched opponent last Wednesday, but newly released polling results paints a picture of a city divided between core and suburban neighbourhood lines.
CBC News mapped the voting results for the catchment areas of all 62 voting stations across the city and found support for both front runner candidates were heavily clustered in two distinct areas.
Click on a location on the map to see more details.
Darker shades indicate larger victory margin over opponent.
Darker shades indicate larger victory margin over opponent.
Atchison had early lead
Going into election day, second-place-finisher Don Atchison had a significant lead in the vote count from advance and special ballot voters.
More than 41 per cent of ballots cast early supported the incumbent mayor, while only 30 per cent backed Clark. Third place finisher Kelley Moore fared well with 27 per cent of early votes.
The only advance voting locations that gave Clark majority support were the University of Saskatchewan and the one located at city hall, the figures show. Moore however received the most advance votes at the Confederation Mall location.
| Advance voters | Special ballot | |
|---|---|---|
| Don Atchison | 5,938 | 1,323 |
| Charlie Clark | 4,617 | 767 |
| Kelley Moore | 4,081 | 664 |
| Devon Hein | 90 | 31 |
Voter turnout lower in Clark strongholds
Neighbourhoods throughout the city that gave majority to support to Clark on average posted lower voter turnout levels compared to the suburban areas that supported Atchison.
The poll data shows that average voter turnout in pro-Clark neighbourhoods was 30.5 per cent, while areas that mostly supported the incumbent mayor saw turnouts that were five percentage points higher.
The polling station with the highest voter turnout was Willows Golf Country Club at 51 per cent which overwhelmingly voted for Atchison. The location with the lowest voter turnout at 11.9 per cent was at Holy Cross High School in the south-eastern part of the city.