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Parties in the Legislature |
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The NDP has a deep legacy in Saskatchewan. The party's roots are in the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), a party established in Saskatchewan in the early 1930s as a response to the struggles farmers were experiencing during the drought and depression of that period.
Similar dry summers are now threatening to dethrone the NDP. Two of the last three years have been among the driest in Saskatchewan since the 1930s and the NDP is blaming those droughts for deficits the government has run. Many of the NDP's older supporters still remember the glory days when T.C. "Tommy" Douglas was premier. The one-time leader of the federal NDP was a political giant, a father of medicare and the founder of most of Saskatchewan's government institutions. That includes its public electrical, telecommunications, and water utilities and the government-owned auto insurance company SGI. After 12 years of governing Saskatchewan, the New Democratic Party (NDP) is hoping for a fourth term. Incumbents always face a tough battle persuading voters that they should be re-elected. That battle becomes even harder when droughts that have left the government coffers in the red and an opposition that has successfully exposed several poor investments by government-run investment branches. Fiscal probity was a hallmark of the NDP governments of the 1990s. Then-premier Roy Romanow's government was one of the first in Canada to eliminate its budget deficit. In 1997, Romanow delivered his fourth consecutive balanced budget. In 1999, he delivered his first minority government and then stepped down a few years later. Romanow's successor, Lorne
Calvert, has arguably swung the party to the left, while the
presence of such people as Jim Melenchuk as finance minister signals
a desire for a balanced approach to fiscal policy. Balance is
something Romanow also liked to trumpet in defending his fiscal
austerity. Using him as a symbol will likely help the party in
its fight to maintain power.
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Founded in 1997 by former Progressive Conservatives, Liberals and Reformers, the Saskatchewan Party became the Official Opposition in 1999 with the largest proportion of the vote, but only 26 of 58 seats in the Legislature.
The party's policies are consistent with policy trends on the right wing of the political spectrum. It focuses on tax cuts, improving the business climate and less government involvement in the economy coupled with strong fiscal austerity. The party has found its strongest support in the rural areas. Leader Elwin Hermanson has made great efforts to present the party as pan-provincial, which means it doesn't pander to special interests, whether urban, rural, aboriginal or white. The Saskatchewan Party says the NDP has been bad for both business
and growth. Its goal is to grow the province of Saskatchewan by
about one per cent a year over 10 years. That would mean 100,000
more people in a province that has been losing people at about
that rate for at least a decade (link to population feature). While the Saskatchewan Party is committed to the notion of grassroots
democracy, its executive council stepped in to void the nomination
of a former Devine cabinet minister, Grant Schmidt, in Melville-Saltcoats.
Schmidt is now suing for campaign costs and is running as an independent
in this election. Schmidt was a controversial figure during his
time in government, and party officials said he would be seen
as unpalatable by urban voters. It should be noted that some former
Tory backroom people and MLAs are associated with the party.
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The Liberal Party enjoyed a glorious run in the first half of the 20th century. From 1905 to 1944, six of the province's seven premiers were Liberals. Ross Thatcher was the last Liberal to hold the office of premier. He was in power from 1964 to 1971.
In the 1999 election, the Liberals held the balance of power with only four seats, which became three when Glen McPherson refused to run in a court ordered byelection. Then Liberal leader Jim Melenchuk struck a coalition agreement with then premier Roy Romanow. When David Karwacki took over as Liberal leader, he gave the three coalition government members an ultimatum: leave the government, or leave the party. Only Jack Hillson left the government. The remaining Liberals – Melenchuk and Ron Osika – are both running for the NDP in this election. While it may have held the balance of power, the Liberal Party lost much of the ground it gained when Lynda Haverstock led the party in the mid-nineties. It won 11 seats in 1995, its best showing in 20 years. But turmoil ensued when prominent Liberal Ken Krawetz, bolted to help form the Saskatchewan Party, a coalition of the province's right-wingers, in 1997. Haverstock's successor, Jim Melenchuk, eventually lost the leadership to Karwacki in 2001, leaving the novice politician to rebuild the party with only one seat in the Legislature and no official status. The Liberals plan to field 58 candidates in this election.
Other Parties |
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Since Grant Devine lost the 1991 election to Roy Romanow, the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan has tried, but failed to make a return to provincial politics. The party plans to run 10 candidates in this election to maintain party status. |
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The New Green Alliance was formed by environmental and social
justice activists in the spring of 1998 after its members perceived
an NDP shift to the right. It was registered as a political party with the Saskatchewan
Electoral Office in January 1999. The party's leader in Saskatchewan is Ben Webster. He is a 26-year-old social worker from Prince Albert, who attributes his environmental activism to his time working the oil fields near Grand Prairie, Alberta. This is the second time the New
Green Alliance has run candidates in a provincial election.
The party received one per cent of the popular vote in the last
election. Webster says that his party is finding more support in Saskatchewan
because people feel the government is ignoring their concerns
about government-sponsored hog operations and the presence of
genetically modified wheat in their fields. He says that his party's
focus on maintaining small-scale business operations combined
with environmental awareness is finding strong support among rural
voters.
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The Western Independence Party The Western Independence Party has been in existence for only three months, though the current leader says the party has been organizing since 2001, when a Melville resident became the first to sign the party's nomination papers. The Western Independence Party is hoping to have 20 candidates nominated in this provincial election. The party says an independent Western Canada would have lower taxes, direct democracy, separation of executive powers, recalls, an elected Senate, English as the sole official language, an elected judiciary, an end to the gun registry, an end to the Kyoto Accord, and constitutionally guaranteed property rights. It would use the referendum as its main tool for establishing policy and remaining accountable to democratic principles, saying a plebiscite would be called on any policy or leadership review. There are Western Independence Parties in Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia. The main goal of the party is to unite all Western provinces and ultimately separate from Canada. The leader of the Saskatchewan Western Independence Party is Bruce Ritter and he is running in Yorkton. |
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Parties
and Leaders
