Buckley Harold Belanger (born March 21, 1960) is a Canadian provincial politician, who serves as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the constituency of Athabasca, in north-western corner of the province. He is a member of the provincial New Democratic Party.
Career
He was originally elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 1995 general election as a Liberal member. He left the party to join the NDP in 1998, recontesting his seat in a by-election in which he attained 93.64 per cent of the vote, the second highest margin of victory ever attained by an electoral candidate in the province. Belanger has been re-elected in every election since then, most recently in the 2016 general election, in which he was re-elected with a majority of 1,109.
Prior to his election to the legislature, Belanger served as mayor of Île-à-la-Crosse, and worked as a journalist and administrator for MBC Radio.
Electoral history
2016 Saskatchewan general election
| 2016 Saskatchewan general election: Athabasca |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|
| New Democratic | Buckley Belanger | 1,734 | 64.7% | – |
| Saskatchewan | Philip Elliott | 625 | 23.3% | – |
| Liberal | Michael Wolverine | 267 | 9.9% | – |
| Green | Max C.D. Morin | 53 | 1.9% | – |
| Total valid votes | – | 100.0 |
| Eligible voters | – |
| New Democratic hold | Swing | - |
| Source: Elections Saskatchewan, Global News. |
2011 Saskatchewan general election
| 2011 Saskatchewan general election: Athabasca |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|
| New Democratic | Buckley Belanger | 1,867 | 63.79 | +4.38 |
| Saskatchewan | Bobby Woods | 1,021 | 34.88 | +2.99 |
| Green | George Durocher | 39 | 1.33 | –1.88 |
| Total valid votes | 2,927 | 100.0 |
| New Democratic hold | Swing | +0.70 |
2007 Saskatchewan general election
| 2007 Saskatchewan general election: Athabasca |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|
| New Democratic | Buckley Belanger | 1,885 | 59.41 | –10.58 |
| Saskatchewan | Phil Elliott | 1,012 | 31.89 | +8.54 |
| Liberal | Malvina Iron | 174 | 5.48 | –0.54 |
| Green | Sean Gilchrist | 102 | 3.21 | – |
| Total valid votes | 3,173 | 100.0 |
| New Democratic hold | Swing | –9.56 |
2003 Saskatchewan general election
| 2003 Saskatchewan general election: Athabasca |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|
| New Democratic | Buckley Belanger | 2,407 | 69.99 | –14.39 |
| Saskatchewan | Greg Ross | 803 | 23.35 | +20.80 |
| Liberal | Philip Durocher | 207 | 6.02 | –7.05 |
| Progressive Conservative | Sean Gilchrist | 22 | 0.64 | – |
| Total valid votes | 3,439 | 100.0 |
| New Democratic hold | Swing | –17.60 |
1999 Saskatchewan general election
| 1999 Saskatchewan general election: Athabasca |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|
| New Democratic | Buckley Belanger | 2,512 | 84.38 | –9.26 |
| Liberal | Allan Adam | 389 | 13.06 | +8.84 |
| Saskatchewan | Bert Roach | 76 | 2.55 | +0.42 |
| Total valid votes | 2,977 | 100.0 |
| New Democratic hold | Swing | –9.05 |
1998 Athabasca by-election
| Saskatchewan provincial by-election, 26 October 1998: Athabasca |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|
| New Democratic | Buckley Belanger | 2,153 | 93.64 | +53.43 |
| Liberal | Winston McKay | 97 | 4.21 | –41.37 |
| Saskatchewan | Tyson Delorme | 49 | 2.13 | – |
| Total valid votes | 2,299 | 100.0 |
| New Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | +47.40 |
1995 Saskatchewan general election
| 1995 Saskatchewan general election: Athabasca |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|
| Liberal | Buckley Belanger | 1,347 | 45.59 | +40.85 |
| New Democratic | Frederick John Thompson | 1,188 | 40.21 | –43.58 |
| Independent | Jimmy Montgrand | 390 | 13.20 | – |
| Progressive Conservative | Clay Poupart | 29 | 0.98 | –7.54 |
| Total valid votes | 2,954 | 100.0 |
| Liberal gain from New Democratic | Swing | +42.22 |