Sask. Vote Compass respondents say Moe is most competent, trustworthy candidate

The latest data from Vote Compass suggests Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe is seen as the most competent electoral candidate to lead the province and the most trustworthy.

Vote Compass is a tool developed by social and political scientists that tries to encourage civic engagement during election campaigns. The latest report asked 4,834 Saskatchewanians to rate the party leaders' competence and trustworthiness on a scale from zero to 10.

Overall, Saskatchewan respondents said Moe is the most competent candidate, giving him a six out of 10 rating on average.

NDP leader Ryan Meili scored 4.4 out of 10 on average, Saskatchewan Green Party leader Naomi Hunter received a 3.4 on average, while Progressive Conservative leader Ken Grey got an average rating of 2.9.

Scores for the leaders of the Saskatchewan Liberals and Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan were not shown in the Vote Compass report.

Women found Meili to be more competent as a leader than men did. The average competency score for Meili was 5.1 out of 10 by women, but only 3.8 out of 10 by men.

Both men and women believe Moe to be more competent than Meili, on average. Women gave Moe a 5.6-rating, while men gave Moe a score of 6.5 out of 10.

Saskatchewanians aged 40 and up also gave Moe higher competency scores than younger people.

People in their 40s gave a 6.2, people aged 50 to 64 years old scored him a 6.7 (the highest average score for any candidate by any age demographic), and people 65 or older gave a 6.1 competency score.

People aged 18 to 29 and people in their 30s each gave Moe a score of 5.5 out of 10 for competency on average.

Meanwhile, younger people found Meili to be more competent than older people do. On average, people aged 18 to 29 gave Meili a five out of 10, and 30-somethings gave Meili a 4.9-rating.

People in their 40s and those aged 50 to 64 each scored Meili at 3.8 on average and people 65 or older gave him a score of 4.5 on average.

Sask. residents most trust Moe

Saskatchewanians also generally found Moe to be more trustworthy than the other candidates, the Vote Compass data suggests.

On average, Moe was given a 5.6 out of 10 for trustworthiness, while Meili got a 4.5, Hunter (Green Party) received a 3.4 and Grey (PCs) got a 2.9.

Women found Meili to be slightly more trustworthy than Moe. On average women scored Meili a 5.2 out of 10 for trustworthiness and Moe a 5.1.

Men seemed to think the opposite. Men gave Moe a 6.1 out of 10 for trustworthiness, but only gave Meili a four out of 10.

Older adults also found Moe to be more trustworthy than Meili. On average, people in their 40s gave Moe a score of 5.8, but Meili received a 3.9 from that demographic.

People 50 to 64 years old gave Moe a 6.4 and Meili a 4.2 for trustworthiness. People 65 years old or older gave Moe a six out of 10, and Meili a 4.8 out of 10.

Younger Saskatchewanians were generally split about who to trust more. People from 18 to 29 gave each Moe and Meili a trustworthiness rating of five on average.

Meanwhile, 30-somethings thought Moe was slightly more trustworthy than Meili: 4.9 out of 10 for Moe, 4.8 out of 10 for Meili on average.

The Vote Compass report notes that competency and trustworthiness scores are linked to people's respective political leanings.

The latest data was gathered from Sept. 28 to Oct. 19.

Funding for new French schools in Sask. should stay as is

Vote Compass also asked 1,003 Saskatchewan residents, "How much provincial funding should there be for the construction of new French−language schools in Saskatchewan?"

Thirty-nine per cent said funding should stay about the same as it is now, while 18 per cent said the amount should be "somewhat less" and 21 per cent said it should be "much less," suggests the data gathered from Oct. 9 to 13.

Thirteen per cent said funding to build new French schools should be somewhat more.

Vote Compass asked the same question to 3,770 people living in British Columbia, during the same time period.

In comparison, 35 per cent of people in B.C. said funding should stay the same, 18 per cent said funding should be "much less" and 14 per cent "somewhat less." But 16 per cent said funding should be "somewhat more."

Twelve per cent of people in B.C. said, "Don't know."

Election day in Saskatchewan is Oct. 26, but advanced polls are open until Friday. They are open from noon to 8 p.m. CST each day.

 About Vote Compass:

Vote Compass was developed by Vox Pop Labs, an independent, non-partisan group of social researchers and data scientists. Neither Vote Compass nor Vox Pop Labs are affiliated with any political organization or interest group.

Respondents to Vote Compass are not pre-selected. Vote Compass data is weighted by gender, age, education, language, region and past vote to ensure the sample's composition reflects that of the actual population of Saskatchewan according to census data and other population estimates.

You can take the Vote Compass survey here. Results are not intended and should not be interpreted as voting advice. Rather, they are an entry point into a discussion of party positions on a suite of issues relevant to the elections.