Lorne Calvert, leader of the New Democratic Party

Lorne Calvert's presence in the Legislature spans three decades. He's served in the cabinet of one of the province's more successful premiers, and made a dramatic comeback after a brief retirement from public life. He even became premier without the messy detail of a general election, inheriting the post when he won the leadership of the New Democratic Party.

So why isn't this man smiling?

The caretaker of an aging government whose missteps are now piled on his doorstep, Calvert must now face an electorate that's had three full terms to ruminate on the NDP's failings. A string of recent controversies have allowed the Opposition to do some political damage, and this promised fourth year election threatens to end his triumphant return to politics as premier.

Calvert's story begins in Moose Jaw, where he was born and raised. He studied economics at the University of Regina, and theology at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Ordained in the United Church in 1976, he served congregations in Perdue, Gravelbourg, Bateman, Shamrock, Coderre and Palmer before returning to Moose Jaw, where he was minister of Zion United Church from 1979 to 1986.

Calvert became a member of the Legislature for the first time in 1986. He was re-elected in 1991 when the opposition New Democrats, led by Romanow, swept the scandal-plagued Tory government of Grant Devine from power, winning 55 of the Legislature's 66 seats. The member for Moose Jaw South was appointed to cabinet in 1992 as associate minister of health responsible for the Wakamow Valley Authority. From September 1992 to January 1993, Calvert also served as minister responsible for SaskPower and SaskEnergy, and sat as deputy chair of the Crown Corporations Committee and as a member of the Legislature's Standing Committee on the Environment.

He was re-elected in 1995, a year that saw Calvert first appointed health minister, then minister of social services, minister responsible for the public service commission and minister responsible for seniors.

Then in 1998, Calvert was gone, stepping out of politics to spend more time with his family (which now includes wife Betty, children Dave and Stephanie, and grandson Levi). In his absence, Romanow's NDP barely clung to power, forming a coalition with three Liberal MLAs following the 1999 election.

When Romanow announced his retirement the following year Calvert resurfaced. He won the NDP leadership race in 2001 that pitted him against the justice minister Chris Axworthy (now retired), Minister Responsible for Crown Investments Corporation Maynard Sonntag, Minister of Culture, Youth and Recreation Joanne Crofford and Minister of Northern Affairs Buckley Belanger. Calvert subsequently won a March 2001 byelection in Romanow's old riding of Saskatoon Riversdale.

He had his hands full immediately. The opposition Saskatchewan Party, still buoyed by its strong showing at the polls in 1999, was eager to pin the NDP's failings on its new leader. It found lots of ammunition:

• the SPUDCO potato venture, which went awry after receiving $28 million of Saskatchewan tax dollars
  
  
• an ethanol investment announced in 2002 that remains in limbo after its private partner, Broe Companies of Denver, failed to secure financing; and
  
  
• the recent decline of Minds Eye Pictures, which filed for protection from creditors after the government invested $7.6 million in it.

Calvert responded to these criticisms by unveiling a new plan for Crown corporations and government investments. Calvert's "new vision" for the Crowns includes making various cabinet ministers responsible for individual companies, rather than leaving them in a single portfolio. An independent board of business people was also created to oversee the nearly $600 million in Crown assets. The board will also control investments and the sale of any companies under the Crown Investments portfolio.

Calvert counters criticisms of his government's poor economic leadership by trumpeting Saskatchewan success stories. Real GDP growth has averaged 2.9 per cent over the past decade. The Conference Board of Canada predicts strong economic and employment growth that could lead to 9,000 new jobs in 2003 and 10,000 jobs for Saskatchewan in 2004.

For examples of economic growth, he points to the energy sector: a record 1,872 gas wells drilled, 1,641 of them new; $1.5 billion invested in oil and gas exploration and development; and 22,000 direct and indirect jobs.

But, economic successes notwithstanding, the things that have not gone right for the NDP government still provide ample fodder for Calvert's political opponents. Against that backdrop, the party he leads will be challenged to convince voters that they deserve a fourth mandate. If they aren't up to that challenge, the final chapter of Calvert's political story may be written on election day.

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