In 1995
Buckley Belanger was elected, winning by 159 votes. Belanger left the Liberals, putting his seat on the line to run as a New Democrat. In the by-election, he defeated the Liberal candidate by 2,050 votes (94% of the popular vote), the second-largest majority in the history of the province. Belanger was subsequently re-elected in every general election since then, most recently in 2016. He resigned in 2021 to run as a Liberal in the
2021 Canadian federal election, but failed to be elected to the federal riding of
Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River. After his defeat, he declined to seek re-election to his provincial seat. In the subsequent by-election, the
Saskatchewan Party's Jim Lemaigre, defeating NDP candidate
Georgina Jolibois. This was considered an upset, as the NDP has held the predominantly-indigenous riding almost continuously since 1975. Along with the neighbouring northern riding of
Cumberland, Athabasca is considered one of the safest New Democratic seats in Saskatchewan, although candidates for the centre-right
Saskatchewan Party have polled somewhat better results in the 21st century compared to SP and
Progressive Conservative candidates in previous elections. ==Member of the Legislative Assembly==