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The Saskatchewan Party is a centre-right political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was established in 1997 by a coalition of former Progressive Conservative and Liberal members and supporters who sought to remove the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party from power. Some long-time NDP voters and at least one former NDP MLA have joined the party. While it has been a right-of-centre party since its creation, it is now attempting to attract moderate voters. The Saskatchewan Party serves as the province's Official Opposition, holding 28 of the 58 seats in the province's Legislative Assembly in Regina.

The party's origins and political basis

For the first 30 years of Saskatchewan's history, the provincial Liberals could be argued to have been its liberal party, too, assiduously courting ethnic minorities as well as agrarian and labour activists.

But with the collapse of the provincial Conservative party in the 1934 provincial election and the first steps of the Farmer-Labour coalition that grew into the leftist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (forerunner of the NDP), the Liberals moved steadily to the right.

So powerful did the CCF and its successor, the New Democratic Party, become in the province that a basic rule of Saskatchewan politics held that (in the words of one veteran political journalist) "Saskatchewan politics shall for evermore consist of the NDP -- and one other party". The only question was, "what other party?"

The Liberals fulfilled that role from 1934 until the late 1970s, when the provincial Progressive Conservative party returned, first under Dick Collver and then under Grant Devine. The PCs won their first majority government ever in 1982 and held power until 1991, when a corruption scandal virtually destroyed the party. The Liberals and PCs both did poorly in the province's 1991 and 1995 elections, leading some prominent members of both parties to suggest a merger under a new name.

The 2003 election

During the 2003 provincial election, the Saskatchewan Party campaigned on a platform of tax reduction and decreased government involvement in the private sector. The party won 28 seats, while the New Democratic Party won 30 seats.

The party was hounded by the NDP with accusations of having secret undisclosed plans to privatize the all of the province's crown corporations. The leader, Elwin Hermanson, was put on the defensive, stating he would not sell the four major crown corporations to private business, but would consider any offers received by private business on other crown corporations. It was rumoured that Preston Manning, the former leader of the Reform Party, had been approached by Hermanson to develop a transition team for government takeover, likely to begin the implementation of the Saskatchewan Party's platform planks.

The party under Brad Wall

The party's current leader is Brad Wall. He came to office on March 15, 2004, after being the only declared candidate for the leadership. Other caucus members who had expressed interest in running included Jason Dearborn, Allan Kerpan (a former Reform MP), and Ken Cheveldayoff, a Saskatoon-based MLA who at one time was the President of the Young Progressive Conservatives of Saskatchewan. Wall's political roots were in the Progressive Conservative Party of former premier Grant Devine. He was employed in the office of The Honourable John Gerich, Associate Minister of Economic Development until the PCs defeat in 1991. Wall ran for the PC nomination in his home town of Swift Current that year, but was unsuccessful.

Wall is seen by many as a more politically moderate leader than his predecessor. Following his appointment as leader, the party unveiled a more moderate policy platform that included, among other things, plans for more treatment beds for crystal meth addicts, democratic workplaces, and a new model for economic development in Saskatchewan. With significantly revised core policies, the party is attempting to win over skeptical left-of-centre voters with more emphasis on social issues. The entire Saskatchewan Party caucus voted in favour of the NDP's Crown Corporations Public Ownership Act, which provided legislative entrenchment for the ownership of the major crown utilities and services, which was a real turn around from their previous position in which the Sask Party "would review the major Crown corporations and be open to anything".Cheap power and heat: Calvert promises lowest utility rates; James Parker. Leader Post. Regina, Sask.: Sep 3, 2003. pg. A.1.

However, the party has had difficulty in shaking its right-wing image and making the Party in to a more centrist party, in the face of opposition to some of its policies. Its agriculture policy, for example, is based on market-choice in the Canadian Wheat Board, a policy shared with the Progressive Conservatives of Alberta. The Saskatchewan Party still rejects both the notion of excessive public involvement in the economy, and government red tape.

In 2004, the Saskatchewan Party had attacked the provincial NDP government over a bad investment, named SpudCo, and the actions of a cabinet minister, Eldon Lautermilch who was forced to apologize for misleading the legislature, a fact that only became apparent once sworn evidence was acquired from a civil lawsuit against the province. The party requested a public inquiry.

In February 2006, Weyburn Big-Muddy MLA, Brenda Bakken Lackey resigned her seat, prompting a byelection. She gave a cryptic statement about her reasons. Leader-Post: Member of Sask. opposition quits Some critics argue that her cryptic statement was aimed at the leadership style of Brad Wall.

In March 2006, the Saskatchewan Party introduced a motion calling on the NDP government to apologize for Jimmy Gardiner's portrayal in The Tommy Douglas Story. The government has argued it was not responsible for production of the film, and thus rebuked the motion for an apology.Moose Jaw Times Herald. Moose Jaw, Sask.: Mar 21, 2006. pg. 2

In 2006, in preparation for the Weyburn-Big Muddy by-election, the Sask Party was accused of using push polling CBC: Karwacki shoots back at controversial poll, Yahoo! Canada News: Sask. Party denies using controversial polling technique by attempting to link Liberal leader David Karwacki with the unpopular Canadian gun registry. The same poll asked respondents if they linked the Saskatchewan Party with the Progressive Conservative party of Saskatchewan. On May 16, 2006, in an effort to gain political support, they tried to associate the provincial NDP, which had always vocally opposed the gun registry, with their federal party counterparts which support itSaskatchewan Legislative Assembly, Hansard, May 16, 2006 (PDF). In 2006 the party caucus had released a tax-payer funded advertisement for their party in an effort to be critical of the current NDP administration. This ad became known for the misspelling of Saskatchewan, as "Saskatchwan". The ad was also criticized for having false information, for example claiming rising tuition costs, despite the 3 years of a fully funded freeze in the price of tuition.‘Saskatchwan’ Party fumbles spelling in television ad; James Wood. Star - Phoenix. Saskatoon, Sask.: May 18, 2006. pg. A.8

Political affiliations

While not officially aligned with any federal political party, some of the Saskatchewan Party's supporters are also involved with the Conservative Party of Canada, with others being associated with the Liberal Party of Canada. Brad Wall, in the 2004 federal election, personally endorsed Conservative candidate David L. Anderson, Member of Parliament for Cypress Hills-Grasslands.

In the 2006 federal election, Brad Wall stated he supported the Conservative Party, but would not personally get involved with a federal election. The previous leader, Hermanson, was a member of the Reform and Canadian Alliance federal parties.

References

External links

1997 establishments | Provincial political parties in Saskatchewan | Saskatchewan Party

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Saskatchewan Party".

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