The Tories won over half the popular vote, and a large majority in the legislature – the first time that the party had won an outright majority, and making Devine only the second Tory premier in the province's history.

The NDP vote fell to its lowest level since 1938, and the party lost 35 of its 44 seats in the legislature – the second-worst defeat of a sitting government in the province's history, behind only the Saskatchewan Liberal Party's 38-seat loss in 1944.

The APP's best showing would be in the Cumberland district of northeast Saskatchewan, finishing third – ahead of the Liberal candidate.

Popular feelings of alienation in Saskatchewan from Ottawa reached a high point in 1982.

The provincial wing of the Western Canada Concept movement won more votes than the Saskatchewan Liberal Party candidate in over a third of Saskatchewan's constituencies; in three ridings the WCC candidate captured more than 1,000 votes.