I asked more than 50 Sask. residents what matters to them in this election. Here's what I discovered

What actually matters to Saskatchewan residents in this month's provincial election? If the 50 regular voters we recently talked with are representative, it's health care, cost of living and schools.

I'll admit, talking with random strangers isn't easy. When I walk up to a stranger on the street, my gut clenches and I have to force a smile. But it's important, and the insight it gives CBC is valuable.

That's why I've spent the last couple of months asking Saskatchewan people what's most important to them, both in an online form that solicited more than 150 responses from across the province, and in conversations on the street in towns and cities across southern Saskatchewan. I visited five communities, going into different spaces from a powwow ground to a parental rights meeting. 

While some people just shrugged and said they hadn't been paying attention or didn't plan to vote in the Oct. 28 election, there were three consistent themes that came up wherever I went. 

I got a glimpse into how people are navigating their day-to-day lives and how they hope the next government will help tackle the issues of health care, education and cost of living to make their lives better. 

Brenda Andrews, 64, wrote to CBC via our online form, saying she hadn't been able to see an ophthalmologist for her complex glaucoma. She'd also struggled with walking, and after a few months of not having the issue properly diagnosed or dealt with, she paid for an MRI scan in the U.S. to get to the root of the issue, she said.

"We paid all our working lives into the health-care system. Now it is not there for us," said Andrews, noting her rural hospital in Kamsack has dealt with a loss of services and beds in the past few years.  

"In my opinion, medicare is dead — we just haven't buried it yet."

It's not a problem among just seniors either. I spoke to first-time voter and college student Allister Watson in Estevan, who said with complex health needs, health care was top of mind for him as well.

"My medical appointments are usually long trips halfway across the province that get fairly expensive for gas and food and hotels. And it's all of that for a 20-minute appointment that could have been done over, like, a video call," he said, noting this means missing school and seeing his grades suffer.

"It wears on me." 

Shay Millard is currently on maternity leave from her role as a registered nurse in a Regina hospital operating room, but she saw the stresses on the health-care system from the other side.

"We're the Level 1 trauma centre in the city, and it's really hard to get coverage and appropriate staffing," she said. 

"You pick up more … [on-call shifts] than is possible for one person and it's just a lot of overtime and a lot of long shifts, late nights."