Saskatoon Churchill—Wildwood

Saskatoon Churchill—Wildwood was created ahead of the 2016 election, when Lisa Lambert of the Saskatchewan Party won the newly drawn seat. The riding covers established residential neighbourhoods in Saskatoon's south end, including parts of the Wildwood, Churchill, and Brevoort Park areas. Lambert entered the 2020 contest as the incumbent, but faced a formidable challenge from Dave McGrane, a well-known political science professor who had served as president of the Saskatchewan NDP. The riding was considered competitive, with the NDP hoping to capitalize on urban dissatisfaction with the Saskatchewan Party's record on education and healthcare.

The race drew attention as a test of whether the NDP could make inroads in Saskatoon's middle-class suburban ridings, where the party needed to gain ground if it hoped to form a credible opposition.

Candidates

Lisa Lambert (Saskatchewan Party) — Raised in Saskatoon's Brevoort Park neighbourhood, Lambert spent over thirty years working at CTV Saskatoon, where she served as president of the CTV Staff Association. She also served four terms as a Catholic school board trustee and was a board member of the Saskatchewan Catholic School Boards Association. First elected in 2016, she had established herself as a community-oriented MLA.

Dave McGrane (NDP) — McGrane was a professor of political studies at St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan, where he was appointed full professor in 2020. He had authored or co-authored numerous academic publications and served as president of the Prairie Political Science Association. He was also a familiar face as an election analyst for media outlets during provincial and federal elections in Saskatchewan.

John Lowe (Progressive Conservative) received three per cent of the vote.

Gillian Walker (Green Party) received two per cent of the vote.

Local Issues

Education was a central battleground in Saskatoon Churchill—Wildwood, where many families with school-age children were concerned about classroom sizes, support staffing levels, and the adequacy of school infrastructure. The NDP's promise to invest $125 million to hire a thousand teachers, 750 educational assistants, and 400 custodial staff resonated in a riding where parents were already anxious about conditions in schools. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified these concerns, as the government's school reopening plans raised questions about whether classrooms could operate safely with existing staffing and space.

Healthcare emerged as the top issue for Saskatchewan voters in 2020, and the riding was no exception. Residents expressed frustration with wait times for specialist care and surgical procedures, concerns that predated the pandemic but were amplified by it. The NDP, led by family physician Ryan Meili, positioned healthcare as its signature issue and argued that the Saskatchewan Party had underfunded the system.

The tight result in 2020, with Lambert prevailing by a margin of only a few hundred votes after a closer contest than her 2016 victory, reflected a broader urban trend in Saskatoon where the NDP was gaining ground. The presence of a well-credentialed NDP candidate in McGrane underscored the party's strategy of running strong candidates in competitive suburban seats, even as the Saskatchewan Party's province-wide majority remained secure.