WEYBURN — Conservative candidate Steven Bonk won the Souris–Moose Mountain riding with 83.9 per cent of the vote in Monday’s federal election.
Bonk defeated Liberal candidate Aziz Mian, New Democrat Sheena Muirhead Koops, Green Party candidate Remi Rheault, Canadian Future Party candidate Lyndon Dayman and independent Travis Patron.
“I'm very pleased, and I'm overwhelmed by the support I've had from the people of Souris-Moose Mountain,” Bonk said on election night, which he spent in Weyburn. “They've given me a very strong mandate and put their trust in me, and I will represent them to the best of my ability.”
Bonk attributed his success to the alignment between the Conservative Party's values and those of the residents of Souris-Moose Mountain.
“In our part of the world, we have very good, pragmatic, common-sense, hard-working people that put their communities first, their families first, and they understand the value of hard work, and those are exactly the values that the Conservative Party shares with them,” he said.
With such a commanding win, Bonk is now preparing to take constituents' concerns to Ottawa. He emphasized that his top priorities will be addressing affordability and the cost of living, and reducing government interference.
“Travelling around the constituency during the election campaign, I heard over and over again that the people of Souris-Moose Mountain expect their government to be there to support them with government programs, to make sure that public safety is protected, to make sure that their infrastructure is protected. But they want the government to get out of their lives when it comes to this constant meddling that we've seen from the Liberal government for the past 10 years.
“The people here don’t mind paying taxes, they like to put in a good hard day’s work, support their communities, but they don’t want to be constantly overburdened by silly taxes and overspending from the federal government,” Bonk explained.
Bonk also noted other issues raised by constituents during the campaign.
“People are concerned about agriculture, and currently the tariffs that we have being imposed on us by China, for example. They’re concerned about the over-regulation of the resource industry, and the bills that the Liberals have put in that have basically made it impossible for new projects to start on the resource industry side,” he said.
As he prepares to represent the riding in Ottawa, Bonk pledged to stay connected to the concerns of Souris-Moose Mountain voters.
“I’ll be out and about in the riding, making sure that I’m connecting with constituents, hearing their concerns, and being their voice in Ottawa,” he said.
Bonk also plans to maintain multiple offices within the riding, including locations in Moosomin, Estevan, Weyburn and a new one in Assiniboia, to ensure accessibility for all constituents.
Despite his overwhelming victory in the riding, Bonk expressed disappointment with the national election results. Although he had hoped for a Conservative majority, he acknowledged the outcome of a Liberal minority government, as of election night.
“A Conservative majority is something that I was hoping for, as well as the people of Souris Mousse Mountain were definitely hoping for. It looks like we're holding the Liberals to a minority government, which is good because a majority would have been very detrimental,” Bonk said.
Bonk’s next steps will focus on addressing the needs of his riding while also pushing for a stronger Conservative voice in the federal government.
“I hope that we can be a very, very strong voice in opposition, and hopefully hold this government to account, and if it is a minority government, to force an election very soon so that we can win a strong majority,” he added.
Bonk also thanked the people in the riding for their support.
“I would like to thank the constituents and voters of Souris-Moose Mountain for putting their faith in me. I'll do my very best to represent them to the best of my ability.”
