Saskatchewan New Democratic Party
Encyclopedia
The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP) is a social-democratic
political party
in the Canadian
province of Saskatchewan
. It currently forms the official opposition
, but has been a dominant force in Saskatchewan politics since the 1940s. The party is the successor to the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
, and affiliated to the federal New Democratic Party
.
In 1921 a left-wing
splinter group left the SGGA to form the Farmer's Union. However, the two groups reconciled in 1926 and reformed as the United Farmers of Canada (Saskatchewan Section) (UFC). The first leader of the UFC was George Williams
.
The Progressive Party of Saskatchewan
, a farmers movement, elected six MLAs in the 1921 provincial election
as well as in the 1925 election
and five in 1929 but were never able to field candidates in more than half a dozen of the province's 63 ridings. After the 1929 provincial election
returned a Liberal minority government
, the Progressives joined with the Conservatives to defeat the Liberals and form a coalition government
dominated by the Tories. The Progressives disappeared over the course of the next four years and were largely absorbed by the Tories.
The rightward drift of the Progressives prompted the UFC-SS to decide, in 1930, to run its own candidates in the following election. In 1931, the UFC participated in the March on Regina to protest against government indifference to the farmer's plight during the depression. During that event the UFC met with the Independent Labour Party, led by M.J. Coldwell, to discuss their options. From that meeting they agreed to form the Farmer-Labour Group (FLG) with Coldwell as the leader. The new party acquired its first member in the Saskatchewan legislature when Jacob Benson, elected as a Progressive in 1929, joined to become a Farmer-Labour MLA.
The FLG participated in the 1934 provincial election
and won five seats and became the official opposition to the Liberals. Coldwell failed to win a seat but remained as leader.
(CCF), although it had been known unofficially as the CCF's Saskatchewan wing before that.
In 1935, Coldwell ran for federal office in the federal election
and was elected. Williams took over as party leader. Williams' radicalism caused moderates in the party to believe that the CCF could not form government with him as leader. Tommy Douglas
, a charismatic federal CCF MP was persuaded to challenge Williams for the leadership and succeeded in defeating him for the party presidency in 1941 and for the party leadership in 1942.
, the Saskatchewan CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, swept to power. They took 47 out of 52 seats. Since that election, the CCF/NDP has won 12 out of 17 elections and held power for 47 of 63 years (as of 2007).
Arguably, the party's greatest accomplishment was the introduction of North America
's first comprehensive system of public medical insurance
or Medicare
. The fight to introduce Medicare in the province was intense, due to the opposition of the province's doctors who were backed by the American Medical Association
. The AMA feared that public health care would spread to other parts of the continent if introduced in one part. In July 1962 the doctors staged the 23-day Saskatchewan Doctors' Strike
. But despite a concerted attempt to defeat the controversial Medical Care Insurance Act, the strike eventually collapsed and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan agreed to the alterations and terms of the "Saskatoon Agreement". The program was introduced and became so popular it was soon adopted across Canada.
After doing much of the preliminary work on Medicare, Douglas resigned as party leader and Premier of Saskatchewan
in 1961 to become the founding leader of the New Democratic Party
of Canada (NDP). The NDP had been formed by a coalition of the CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress
. The Saskatchewan CCF followed suit, and adopted its current name in 1967 after a transitional period when the party was awkwardly named the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, Saskatchewan Section of the New Democratic Party of Canada.
The turmoil of the Medicare fight took its toll, however, and the NDP-CCF government of Douglas's successor Woodrow S. Lloyd was defeated by Ross Thatcher's Saskatchewan Liberal Party
in the 1964 election
. The party dropped the "CCF" name after the 1967 election
.
" (a name derived from Toronto leftist economist Gordon Laxer's quip that if he was perceived to be "waffling" on a policy question, then he'd "rather waffle to the left than waffle to the right") and the more centrist-oriented party establishment. The party returned to power in the 1971 election
, under Allan Blakeney
, embarking on a programme of nationalizing
the province's natural resources. This saw the creation of parastatal or Crown corporations that drilled for oil (Saskatchewan Oil & Gas Corporation
or SaskOil), mined potash (the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan
) and sought hard-rock minerals (the Saskatchewan Mining Development Corp.). Blakeney's government was defeated in the 1982 election
by the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan
, led by Grant Devine
.
The party returned to office in 1991, under the leadership of Roy Romanow
. The Romanow government was more fiscally conservative
than previous CCF/NDP governments, and instituted a program of hospital closures, program cuts, and privatization
to eliminate the budget deficit and reduce debt inherited from previous governments. Romanow later quipped that he was a supporter of Tony Blair
's Third Way
concept before it even existed, and there were many who doubted the party's continued commitment to social democracy
. The NDP's Third Way alienated some of its left-wing members, who left the party and merged with the Green Party supporters
to form the New Green Alliance
.
In the 1999 provincial election
, Romanow's NDP received slightly less popular support as a share of the vote than the conservative
opposition Saskatchewan Party
led by Elwin Hermanson
, a former Reform
MP. Romanow and his government formed a coalition government
with the three elected Liberal MLAs; one, Jack Hillson, subsequently left cabinet to sit as an independent Liberal in opposition. Jim Melenchuk and Ron Osika remained in the coalition and ran under the NDP banner in the 2003 provincial election, where both were defeated.
Following the 2003 general election, the NDP, now led by Lorne Calvert
, was able to form a government on its own with a majority in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
of two seats (30-28). The party's tenure in office ended with the 2007 general election
, when the Saskatchewan Party under leader Brad Wall
won 38 of the 58 seats. Reduced to official opposition leader, Calvert said he had no immediate plans to step down as NDP leader, but would likely not lead the party into the next election.
In 2008, Lorne Calvert announced his intention to leave the leadership of the Sask NDP and a leadership race commenced with declared candidates including Moose Jaw MLA Deb Higgins
, former Deputy Premier and farmer, Dwain Lingenfelter
, doctor and community activist Ryan Meili
and former party President and Regina lawyer, Yens Pedersen
. Lingenfelter was elected party leader June 6, 2009.
Despite starting in the 1930s as a party of rural discontent, it had by the 1990s lost almost all of its rural seats and found its greatest strength in Saskatchewan's cities.
The 2011 election
proved a heavy blow for the party; both Lingenfelter and deputy leader Deb Higgins lost their seats as the Saskatchewan Party consolidated its majority. Lingenfelter resigned as leader, and John Nilson
was named acting leader.
Coldwell, Williams, Brockelbank and Lingenfelter are the only leaders not to have been Premier during their time in provincial office.
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. It currently forms the official opposition
Official Opposition (Canada)
In Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...
, but has been a dominant force in Saskatchewan politics since the 1940s. The party is the successor to the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
, and affiliated to the federal New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
.
Origins
The origins of the party began as early as 1902. In that year a group of farmers created the Territorial Grain Growers' Association. The objective of this group was to lobby for farmer's rights with the grain trade and the railways. The name was changed to the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association (SGGA) when Saskatchewan became a province in 1905.In 1921 a left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
splinter group left the SGGA to form the Farmer's Union. However, the two groups reconciled in 1926 and reformed as the United Farmers of Canada (Saskatchewan Section) (UFC). The first leader of the UFC was George Williams
George Hara Williams
George Hara Williams was a farmer activist and politician. Born in Binscarth, Manitoba, Williams attended Manitoba Agricultural College after serving in World War I...
.
The Progressive Party of Saskatchewan
Progressive Party of Saskatchewan
The Progressive Party of Saskatchewan was a provincial section of the Progressive Party of Canada and was active from the 1920s to the mid-1930s...
, a farmers movement, elected six MLAs in the 1921 provincial election
Saskatchewan general election, 1921
The Saskatchewan general election of 1921 was the fifth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 9, 1921 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
as well as in the 1925 election
Saskatchewan general election, 1925
The Saskatchewan general election of 1925 was the sixth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 2, 1925 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
and five in 1929 but were never able to field candidates in more than half a dozen of the province's 63 ridings. After the 1929 provincial election
Saskatchewan general election, 1929
The Saskatchewan general election of 1929 was the seventh provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 6, 1929 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
returned a Liberal minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
, the Progressives joined with the Conservatives to defeat the Liberals and form a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
dominated by the Tories. The Progressives disappeared over the course of the next four years and were largely absorbed by the Tories.
The rightward drift of the Progressives prompted the UFC-SS to decide, in 1930, to run its own candidates in the following election. In 1931, the UFC participated in the March on Regina to protest against government indifference to the farmer's plight during the depression. During that event the UFC met with the Independent Labour Party, led by M.J. Coldwell, to discuss their options. From that meeting they agreed to form the Farmer-Labour Group (FLG) with Coldwell as the leader. The new party acquired its first member in the Saskatchewan legislature when Jacob Benson, elected as a Progressive in 1929, joined to become a Farmer-Labour MLA.
The FLG participated in the 1934 provincial election
Saskatchewan general election, 1934
The Saskatchewan general election of 1934 was the eighth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 19, 1934, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
and won five seats and became the official opposition to the Liberals. Coldwell failed to win a seat but remained as leader.
Founding of the CCF
Following the election, the Farmer-Labour Group officially became the Saskatchewan section of the Co-operative Commonwealth FederationCo-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
(CCF), although it had been known unofficially as the CCF's Saskatchewan wing before that.
In 1935, Coldwell ran for federal office in the federal election
Canadian federal election, 1935
The Canadian federal election of 1935 was held on October 14, 1935 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Minister R.B. Bennett's Conservative Party.The central...
and was elected. Williams took over as party leader. Williams' radicalism caused moderates in the party to believe that the CCF could not form government with him as leader. Tommy Douglas
Tommy Douglas
Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...
, a charismatic federal CCF MP was persuaded to challenge Williams for the leadership and succeeded in defeating him for the party presidency in 1941 and for the party leadership in 1942.
In government
In the 1944 electionSaskatchewan general election, 1944
The Saskatchewan general election of 1944 was the tenth provincial election in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 15, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
, the Saskatchewan CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, swept to power. They took 47 out of 52 seats. Since that election, the CCF/NDP has won 12 out of 17 elections and held power for 47 of 63 years (as of 2007).
Arguably, the party's greatest accomplishment was the introduction of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
's first comprehensive system of public medical insurance
National health insurance
National health insurance is health insurance that insures a national population for the costs of health care and usually is instituted as a program of healthcare reform. It is enforced by law. It may be administered by the public sector, the private sector, or a combination of both...
or Medicare
Medicare (Canada)
Medicare is the unofficial name for Canada's publicly funded universal health insurance system. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.Under the terms of the Canada Health...
. The fight to introduce Medicare in the province was intense, due to the opposition of the province's doctors who were backed by the American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
. The AMA feared that public health care would spread to other parts of the continent if introduced in one part. In July 1962 the doctors staged the 23-day Saskatchewan Doctors' Strike
Saskatchewan Doctors' Strike
The 1962 Saskatchewan Doctors' Strike was a 23-day labour action exercised by medical doctors in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in an attempt to force the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation government of Saskatchewan to rescind its program of universal medical insurance...
. But despite a concerted attempt to defeat the controversial Medical Care Insurance Act, the strike eventually collapsed and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan agreed to the alterations and terms of the "Saskatoon Agreement". The program was introduced and became so popular it was soon adopted across Canada.
After doing much of the preliminary work on Medicare, Douglas resigned as party leader and Premier of Saskatchewan
Premier of Saskatchewan
The Premier of Saskatchewan is the first minister for the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive....
in 1961 to become the founding leader of the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
of Canada (NDP). The NDP had been formed by a coalition of the CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress
Canadian Labour Congress
The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in English Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.- Formation :...
. The Saskatchewan CCF followed suit, and adopted its current name in 1967 after a transitional period when the party was awkwardly named the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, Saskatchewan Section of the New Democratic Party of Canada.
The turmoil of the Medicare fight took its toll, however, and the NDP-CCF government of Douglas's successor Woodrow S. Lloyd was defeated by Ross Thatcher's Saskatchewan Liberal Party
Saskatchewan Liberal Party
The Saskatchewan Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.-Early history :The party dominated Saskatchewan politics for the province's first forty years providing six of the first seven Premiers, and being in power for all but five of the years between the...
in the 1964 election
Saskatchewan general election, 1964
The Saskatchewan general election of 1964 was the fifteenth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on April 22, 1964, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
. The party dropped the "CCF" name after the 1967 election
Saskatchewan general election, 1967
The Saskatchewan general election of 1967 was the sixteenth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on October 11, 1967, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
.
Recent History
The NDP rebuilt itself and went through a painful confrontation between a left-wing movement dubbed "The WaffleThe Waffle
The Waffle was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little electoral success before it permanently disbanded in the mid-1970s...
" (a name derived from Toronto leftist economist Gordon Laxer's quip that if he was perceived to be "waffling" on a policy question, then he'd "rather waffle to the left than waffle to the right") and the more centrist-oriented party establishment. The party returned to power in the 1971 election
Saskatchewan general election, 1971
The Saskatchewan general election of 1971 was the seventeenth provincial election in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 23, 1971, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
, under Allan Blakeney
Allan Blakeney
Allan Emrys Blakeney, PC, OC, SOM, QC, FRSC was the tenth Premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan from 1971 to 1982, and leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party .-Life and career:...
, embarking on a programme of nationalizing
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
the province's natural resources. This saw the creation of parastatal or Crown corporations that drilled for oil (Saskatchewan Oil & Gas Corporation
Saskatchewan Oil & Gas Corporation
Saskatchewan Oil & Gas Corporation, also known as SaskOil, was a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Saskatchewan. Established in 1973, it was responsible for oil and natural gas exploration, extraction, and marketing in the province of Saskatchewan. In 1986, the government sold the...
or SaskOil), mined potash (the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan
The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. , also referred to as PotashCorp, is a Canadian corporation based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The company is the world's largest potash producer and the third largest producers of nitrogen and phosphate, three primary crop nutrients used to produce...
) and sought hard-rock minerals (the Saskatchewan Mining Development Corp.). Blakeney's government was defeated in the 1982 election
Saskatchewan general election, 1982
The Saskatchewan general election of 1982 was the twentieth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on April 26, 1982, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
by the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan
Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan
The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan is a right-of-centre political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Prior to 1942, it was known as the Conservative Party of Saskatchewan. Members are commonly known as Tories....
, led by Grant Devine
Grant Devine
Donald Grant Devine was the 11th Premier of Saskatchewan from May 8, 1982 to November 1, 1991.- Early life :Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, he received a B.Sc. in Agriculture degree specializing in Agricultural Economics in 1967 from the University of Saskatchewan, an M.Sc. specializing in...
.
The party returned to office in 1991, under the leadership of Roy Romanow
Roy Romanow
Roy John Romanow, PC, OC, QC, SOM is a Canadian politician and the 12th Premier of Saskatchewan ....
. The Romanow government was more fiscally conservative
Fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism is a political term used to describe a fiscal policy that advocates avoiding deficit spending. Fiscal conservatives often consider reduction of overall government spending and national debt as well as ensuring balanced budget of paramount importance...
than previous CCF/NDP governments, and instituted a program of hospital closures, program cuts, and privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
to eliminate the budget deficit and reduce debt inherited from previous governments. Romanow later quipped that he was a supporter of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's Third Way
Third way (centrism)
The Third Way refers to various political positions which try to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. Third Way approaches are commonly viewed from within the first- and second-way perspectives as...
concept before it even existed, and there were many who doubted the party's continued commitment to social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
. The NDP's Third Way alienated some of its left-wing members, who left the party and merged with the Green Party supporters
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
to form the New Green Alliance
Green Party of Saskatchewan
The Green Party of Saskatchewan is a left-leaning Green political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.It was founded in 1998 as the New Green Alliance by environmental and social justice activists frustrated by the social democratic Saskatchewan New Democratic Party's move to the right...
.
In the 1999 provincial election
Saskatchewan general election, 1999
The Saskatchewan general election of 1999 was the twenty-fourth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on September 16, 1999 to elect members of the 24th Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
, Romanow's NDP received slightly less popular support as a share of the vote than the conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
opposition Saskatchewan Party
Saskatchewan Party
The Saskatchewan Party is a conservative liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was established in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative and Liberal party members and supporters who sought to remove the Saskatchewan New Democratic...
led by Elwin Hermanson
Elwin Hermanson
Elwin Norris Hermanson is a Canadian politician, best known for being the first full-time leader of the Saskatchewan Party....
, a former Reform
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
MP. Romanow and his government formed a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
with the three elected Liberal MLAs; one, Jack Hillson, subsequently left cabinet to sit as an independent Liberal in opposition. Jim Melenchuk and Ron Osika remained in the coalition and ran under the NDP banner in the 2003 provincial election, where both were defeated.
Following the 2003 general election, the NDP, now led by Lorne Calvert
Lorne Calvert
Lorne Albert Calvert, MLA was the 13th Premier of Saskatchewan, from 2001 to 2007. Calvert, was the leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party from 2001 to June 6, 2009, when he was succeeded by Dwain Lingenfelter.In 1975, Calvert married Betty Sluzalo of Perdue, Saskatchewan. After attending...
, was able to form a government on its own with a majority in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
The 25th Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan was in power from 2003 until November 20, 2007. It was controlled by the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party under premier Lorne Calvert.-Members:-By-elections:...
of two seats (30-28). The party's tenure in office ended with the 2007 general election
Saskatchewan general election, 2007
The 26th Saskatchewan general election was held on November 7, 2007; the writ was dropped on October 10, 2007. The election determined the composition of the 26th Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
, when the Saskatchewan Party under leader Brad Wall
Brad Wall
Bradley John "Brad" Wall, MLA is a Canadian politician who has been the 14th Premier of Saskatchewan since November 21, 2007....
won 38 of the 58 seats. Reduced to official opposition leader, Calvert said he had no immediate plans to step down as NDP leader, but would likely not lead the party into the next election.
In 2008, Lorne Calvert announced his intention to leave the leadership of the Sask NDP and a leadership race commenced with declared candidates including Moose Jaw MLA Deb Higgins
Deb Higgins
Deb Higgins is a Canadian provincial politician, who was the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the constituency of Moose Jaw Wakamow from 1999 to 2011....
, former Deputy Premier and farmer, Dwain Lingenfelter
Dwain Lingenfelter
Dwain Lingenfelter is a businessman, farmer, politician and former Leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party. Lingenfelter won the leadership of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party on June 6, 2009...
, doctor and community activist Ryan Meili
Ryan Meili
Ryan Meili is a medical doctor and community organizer who ran for the leadership of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party in 2009 placing second with 44.93% of the vote.Meili currently works as a rural relief locum giving doctors in small communities time off...
and former party President and Regina lawyer, Yens Pedersen
Yens Pedersen
Yens Pedersen is a lawyer and was a candidate in the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party leadership race. Before entering the leadership race, he served as the President of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party. Yens was the NDP candidate in the constituency of Regina South in the 2007 provincial...
. Lingenfelter was elected party leader June 6, 2009.
Despite starting in the 1930s as a party of rural discontent, it had by the 1990s lost almost all of its rural seats and found its greatest strength in Saskatchewan's cities.
The 2011 election
Saskatchewan general election, 2011
The 27th Saskatchewan general election was held on November 7, 2011, to elect 58 members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan . The election was called on October 10 by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, on the advice of Premier Brad Wall...
proved a heavy blow for the party; both Lingenfelter and deputy leader Deb Higgins lost their seats as the Saskatchewan Party consolidated its majority. Lingenfelter resigned as leader, and John Nilson
John Nilson
John Nilson is a Canadian politician in Saskatchewan. He is currently the member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the Regina Lakeview constituency, representing the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party...
was named acting leader.
Party leaders
- M.J. Coldwell (July 27, 1932–July 17, 1936)
- George Williams (July 17, 1936–February 12, 1941)
- John Brockelbank (February 12, 1941–July 17, 1942) (leader in the legislature)
- Thomas C. Douglas (July 17, 1942–November 3, 1961)
- Woodrow Lloyd (November 3, 1961–July 4, 1970)
- Allan BlakeneyAllan BlakeneyAllan Emrys Blakeney, PC, OC, SOM, QC, FRSC was the tenth Premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan from 1971 to 1982, and leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party .-Life and career:...
(July 4, 1970–November 7, 1987) - Roy RomanowRoy RomanowRoy John Romanow, PC, OC, QC, SOM is a Canadian politician and the 12th Premier of Saskatchewan ....
(November 7, 1987–January 27, 2001) - Lorne CalvertLorne CalvertLorne Albert Calvert, MLA was the 13th Premier of Saskatchewan, from 2001 to 2007. Calvert, was the leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party from 2001 to June 6, 2009, when he was succeeded by Dwain Lingenfelter.In 1975, Calvert married Betty Sluzalo of Perdue, Saskatchewan. After attending...
(January 27, 2001–June 6, 2009) - Dwain LingenfelterDwain LingenfelterDwain Lingenfelter is a businessman, farmer, politician and former Leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party. Lingenfelter won the leadership of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party on June 6, 2009...
(June 6, 2009–November 19, 2011) - John NilsonJohn NilsonJohn Nilson is a Canadian politician in Saskatchewan. He is currently the member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the Regina Lakeview constituency, representing the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party...
(acting) (November 19, 2011- )
Coldwell, Williams, Brockelbank and Lingenfelter are the only leaders not to have been Premier during their time in provincial office.
See also
- List of articles about Saskatchewan CCF/NDP members
- Saskatchewan New Democratic Party/Co-operative Commonwealth Federation leadership conventions
- List of political parties in Saskatchewan
- Politics of SaskatchewanPolitics of SaskatchewanThe Politics of Saskatchewan are part of the Canadian federal political system along with the other Canadian provinces. Saskatchewan has a Lieutenant-Governor, Gordon Barnhart, who is the representative of the Crown in Right of Saskatchewan, an elected premier, Brad Wall, leading the Cabinet, and a...