Erika Ritchie is a Canadian politician, currently representing the riding of Saskatoon Nutana in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

Erika Ritchie
Member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly
for Saskatoon Nutana
Assumed office
October 26, 2020
Preceded byCathy Sproule
Personal details
Born1969
Political partyNew Democratic Party
Residence(s)Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Alma materUniversity of Saskatchewan
ProfessionEnvironmental engineer
Websitewww.ndpcaucus.sk.ca/erikaritchie

Political career

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Ritchie's first foray into politics was as a candidate for the New Democratic Party in the 2019 federal election for the riding of Saskatoon—Grasswood. There she lost to incumbent Kevin Waugh.[1]

Ritchie ran for the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party in the 2020 Saskatchewan general election in a bid to replace the retired Cathy Sproule as MLA for Saskatoon Nutana. She was elected on October 26, securing 65% of the vote.[2][3]

On November 4, 2020, Ritchie, formerly an environmental engineer, was named NDP critic for environment, energy and resources, SaskEnergy, SaskWater, and the Water Security Agency.[4]

As of June 22, 2024, she serves as the Official Opposition critic for SaskEnergy, for the Water Security Agency and SaskWater, for Municipal Affairs, and for the Crown Investments Corporation.

Personal life

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Ritchie studied engineering at the University of Saskatchewan.[5] In June 2019, Ritchie was elected to the board of directors for Saskatoon Co-op.[6] Ritchie was endorsed by the grassroots group Co-op Members for Fairness, which started in support of Co-op workers during a prolonged strike over a tiered-wage system.[6][7]

Electoral results

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2020 Saskatchewan general election: Saskatoon Nutana
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Erika Ritchie 4,777 65.13 +8.60
Saskatchewan Kyle Mazer 2,339 31.89 -4.70
Green Albert Chubak 219 2.99 +0.18
Total valid votes 7,335 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 73 1.00 +0.72
Turnout 7,408 57.20 +2.16
Eligible voters 12,951
New Democratic hold Swing -
Source: Elections Saskatchewan
2019 Canadian federal election: Saskatoon—Grasswood
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Kevin Waugh 26,336 53.3 $32,265.34
New Democratic Erika Ritchie 12,672 25.6 none listed
Liberal Tracy Muggli 8,419 17.0 $50,741.23
Green Neil Sinclair 1,320 2.7 $335.36
People's Mark Friesen 692 1.4 none listed
Total valid votes/Expense limit 49,439 100.0
Total rejected ballots 337
Turnout 49,776 77.6
Eligible voters 64,150
Source: Global News,[8] Elections Canada[9]

References

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  1. ^ Deibert, Dave; MacPherson, Alex; Levy, Bryn; Short, Amanda (2019-10-22). "Goodale out as Conservatives sweep Saskatoon, rest of province". StarPhoenix. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  2. ^ "Saskatchewan NDP's Erika Ritchie wins seat in Saskatoon Nutana". CTV News Saskatoon. 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  3. ^ "Saskatchewan election: Saskatoon Nutana". Global News. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  4. ^ News, CJME (2020-11-04). "Saskatchewan NDP leader names shadow cabinet". 980 CJME. Retrieved 2020-11-20. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ News, CKOM (2019-10-07). "Erika Ritchie, NDP". 650 CKOM. Retrieved 2020-11-20. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ a b Modjeski, Morgan (2019-06-21). "Emotions high as Saskatoon Co-op members elect two new directors to board | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  7. ^ MacPherson, Alex (2019-08-13). "New Saskatoon Co-op board chair says he's eager to rebuild trust". StarPhoenix. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  8. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Global News. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 8, 2019.