The new logo with the 'swoosh' is now appearing on Saskatchewan government press releases. The new logo with the 'swoosh' is now appearing on Saskatchewan government press releases. (Government of Saskatchewan)

The New Democrats are criticizing the provincial government's new logo because it uses the Saskatchewan Party's green-and-yellow colour scheme.

"The new logo is a Sask. Party brand in party colours," NDP deputy leader Buckley Belanger said in a news release on Friday.

"It's not appropriate, and the fact that the Sask. Party tried to quietly sneak this change through makes it obvious that the Sask. Party knows it's doing something wrong."

This week, the government quietly replaced the iconic wheat sheaf logo on its news releases and web pages.

The NDP says the new government logo looks a lot like the Saskatchewan Party's brand. The NDP says the new government logo looks a lot like the Saskatchewan Party's brand. (Saskatchewan Party)

The modern logo, showing a yellow swoosh across a green background, replaces the ochre-yellow wheat logo that's been in use since the NDP government was in power in the 1970s.

Green, gold used by Sask.Party

The government says the old wheat logo will continue to be used on signs and buildings, but the new one will appear on government press releases.

The wheat sheaf logo has been in use since the 1970s. The wheat sheaf logo has been in use since the 1970s. (Government of Saskatchewan)

For years, the Sask. Party has used green and yellow — two colours that feature prominently on the provincial flag — as its party colours.

Belanger said the province shouldn't phase out the old wheat sheaf logo because it's symbolic of the province's agrarian heritage.

Wheat logo targeted in 2007

The Sask. Party government tried to replace the wheat sheaf in 2007, but a public outcry forced it to back off.

At the time, some people argued that from a marketing perspective, a wheat sheaf logo didn't adequately reflect a modern province with a booming resource sector.

The debate over party colours is an echo of what occurred at the federal level in the last decade after the Conservative government replaced the Liberals.

On some government web pages, 'Liberal' red was replaced by 'Conservative' blue, a move some decried but other said was overdue.