Saskatchewan Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | SP Sask Party |
| Leader | Scott Moe |
| President | Derek Tallon (interim) |
| Founded | August 8, 1997 |
| Registered | September 17, 1997 |
| Split from | Progressive Conservative Party Liberal Party |
| Headquarters | 6135 Rochdale Boulevard Regina, Saskatchewan S4X 2R1 |
| Membership |  27,125 (2017)[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-right to right-wing |
| Colours | Green |
| Seats in Legislature | 34 / 61 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Saskatchewan Party (SP or Sask Party) is a conservative political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was founded in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative and Liberal Party members who sought to unite opposition to the governing New Democratic Party. Since 2007, the Saskatchewan Party has been the province's governing party, and both the party and the province are currently led by Premier Scott Moe.
Since first being elected to a majority government in 2007, the Saskatchewan Party has enjoyed a run of electoral success not seen in the province since the days of Tommy Douglas's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. In 2020, the SP was elected to its fourth consecutive majority government, a feat not achieved since the CCF led five majority governments between 1944 and 1964. This success has led observers to declare the SP the province's new natural governing party.[2][3]
Brad Wall was the first SP leader to become Premier in 2007. The party took power at a time of soaring natural resource prices, which helped to spur economic and population growth. A downturn in resource prices beginning in 2014 created challenges for the province's economy, and in the years since the provincial debt has reached historic levels. Wall announced his retirement in 2017 and he was succeeded by Moe in 2018. Under Wall's early leadership, the SP was considered to be a centre-right party, albeit one with a neoliberal and Christian conservative basis.[4][5] In later years and particularly under Moe's leadership, the party is considered to have taken a turn further to the right.[6][7] Under both premiers, and especially since the election of a Liberal federal government in 2015, the party has increasingly focused its attention on the federal government and espoused sentiments of western alienation within the Canadian federation.
- ^ MacPherson, Alex. "Sask. Party says 27,125 people eligible to vote for leader, premier". Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Postmedia Network. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
- ^ Cuthand, Doug (October 27, 2020). "The Sask. Party is now the province's natural governing party". CBC News. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
- ^ Mandryk, Murray (December 21, 2020). "Historic Sask. Party election win makes it new natural governing party". Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
- ^ Leeson, Howard A. (2008). Saskatchewan Politics: Crowding the Centre. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre. p. 4. ISBN 9780889772342.
- ^ Eisler, Dale (2022). From Left to Right: Saskatchewan's Political and Economic Transformation. Regina: University of Regina Press. pp. 302–303. ISBN 9780889778672.
- ^ Tank, Phil (February 14, 2024). "Sask. Party has itself to blame for plummeting popularity". Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ Hylton, Annie (July 23, 2024). "How Scott Moe Moved Saskatchewan—and Canada—Further Right". The Walrus. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.