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93-564: The Saskatchewan Party government, led by Premier Scott Moe since 2018, has been a persistent critic of federal environmental legislation. In 2018, Saskatchewan launched an unsuccessful court challenge against the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act ; Saskatchewan argued that the act was unconstitutional, but in March 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that it is in fact constitutional. Saskatchewan also acted as an intervenor against

186-450: A one -party system , which are intricately organized around a specific party. Sometimes the term " de facto one-party state" is used to describe dominant-party systems which, unlike a one-party system, allows (at least nominally) democratic multiparty elections, but the existing practices or balance of political power effectively prevent the opposition from winning power, thus resembling a one-party state. Dominant-party systems differ from

279-421: A dominant party (also referred to as a predominant or hegemonic party). Some dominant parties were called the natural governing party , given their length of time in power. Dominant parties, and their domination of a state, develop out of one-sided electoral and party constellations within a multi-party system (particularly under presidential systems of governance), and as such differ from states under

372-517: A white paper on provincial autonomy titled "Drawing the Line: Defending Saskatchewan's Economic Autonomy." The paper claimed that the province stood to lose more than $ 100 billion by 2035 due to federal environmental policies and asserted that the province was prepared to attempt further court actions against pollution regulation; it also reiterated Moe's desire for more provincial power in taxation, immigration, and other areas. The paper

465-522: A "New Deal with Canada" and referring to Saskatchewan as a "nation within a nation", and asserting a desire for more control over taxation, immigration, and policing. In October 2022, the party issued a white paper on its stance against "federal intrusion". The following month, the party passed the Saskatchewan First Act into law; the Act reasserts provincial jurisdiction over natural resources. The Act

558-570: A consensus that during his time as leader, Wall and the Saskatchewan Party became virtually synonymous, and that the party's popularity was bolstered by Wall's populist appeal. Wall was known to claim that people in Saskatchewan are "not really interested in ideology." Early on, the party also pursued policies that were not strictly traditionally conservative, including an opposition to a foreign takeover of Saskatoon-based PotashCorp , earning

651-404: A consequence, the Saskatchewan Party has pursued a process of "active incrementalism," whereby the party works to weaken popular support for particular institutions in order to privatize them—in whole or in part—or wind them down over time. The party has also increasingly pursued public-private partnerships for new developments. By pursuing such a strategy, the party has been successful in realizing

744-424: A federal carbon tax . By 2017, the economic challenges facing the province became more clear. Although the government had had success in paying down debt in its early years, debt had risen to nearly $ 15 billion. The province's credit rating was downgraded to AA. The Saskatchewan Party responded with a severe austerity budget in 2017—which ran the sixth deficit out of ten budgets since 2007—introducing expansions to

837-474: A genuine democratic dominant-party system would be the pre- Emergency India, which was almost universally viewed by all as being a democratic state, even though the only major national party at that time was the Indian National Congress . The reasons why a dominant-party system may form in such a country are often debated: supporters of the dominant party tend to argue that their party is simply doing

930-569: A genuinely democratic basis, the opposition may be strong in one or more subnational areas, possibly even constituting a dominant party locally; an example is South Africa, where although the African National Congress is dominant at the national level, the opposition Democratic Alliance is strong to dominant in the Province of Western Cape . In dominant-party governments, they use institutional channels, rather than repression, to influence

1023-480: A good job in government and the opposition continuously proposes unrealistic or unpopular changes, while supporters of the opposition tend to argue that the electoral system disfavors them (for example because it is based on the principle of first past the post ), or that the dominant party receives a disproportionate amount of funding from various sources and is therefore able to mount more persuasive campaigns. In states with ethnic issues, one party may be seen as being

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1116-494: 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 2024, the SP was elected to its fifth 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

1209-434: A number of Christian private schools employ the controversial Accelerated Christian Education curriculum. In the 2011 provincial election , Wall and the Saskatchewan Party won a landslide victory, winning 49 of 58 seats and more than 60% of the popular vote—the highest share in the province's history. It was during this second term that a bust in commodity prices would begin to strain provincial finances, although some of

1302-464: A party with a lower percentage of the vote than in proportional representation systems due to a fractured opposition (resulting in wasted votes and a lower number of parties entering the legislature) and gerrymandering . Critics of the "dominant party" theory argue that it views the meaning of democracy as given, and that it assumes that only a particular conception of representative democracy (in which different parties alternate frequently in power)

1395-434: A privatization agenda since its early days in power. Since coming to power in 2007, the Saskatchewan Party has maintained a commitment to the lowest corporate tax rates in the country. The province has remained among the provinces with the lowest minimum wage . In 2022, the government sent $ 500 tax credit cheques to residents. The party has pursued the privatization and closure of a wide range of public assets. In 2017,

1488-519: A range of political operatives, including many involved with the federal Reform Party . Moreover, while the party openly encouraged grassroots participation, its formulation has been described as a movement by political elites. Neither the PCs nor the Liberals disbanded after this merger of former party MLAs. However, while the Liberals ran a full slate of candidates in the 1999 election, with four being elected,

1581-488: A realistic chance of winning; the dominant party genuinely wins the votes of the vast majority of voters every time (or, in authoritarian systems, claims to). Under authoritarian dominant-party systems, which may be referred to as " electoralism " or "soft authoritarianism", opposition parties are legally allowed to operate, but are too weak or ineffective to seriously challenge power, perhaps through various forms of corruption, constitutional quirks that intentionally undermine

1674-618: A report outlining a path to increased renewable energy development, but these initiatives were halted by Wall's government. During this term, the Saskatchewan Party began pursuing privatization of some of its assets. It sold its 49% share of SaskFerco , a significant nitrogen fertilizer producer; it began contracting out SaskTel and internal information technology services; it instructed crowns to divest of out-of-province holdings and investments; it introduced SaskBuilds to pursue public-private partnerships on infrastructure development; and it began introducing limited private-sector involvement in

1767-462: A town hall meeting that he would "do some more work looking into" concerns about chemtrails . In 2024, Speaker Randy Weekes alleged in the Legislature that the Saskatchewan Party caucus was rife with bullying behaviour, and that he had been met with intimidation tactics in his role as Speaker, particularly by then-House Leader Jeremy Harrison . Weekes ultimately resigned his party membership. In

1860-640: A unique local identity. For example, the current elected government of the District of Columbia has been governed by Democrats since its creation in the 1970s, Bavaria by the Christian Social Union since 1957, Madeira by the Social Democrats since 1976, and Alberta by the Progressive Conservatives from 1971 to 2015. On the other hand, where the dominant party rules nationally on

1953-511: 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

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2046-455: Is currently facing a legal challenge by Onion Lake First Nation. The Saskatchewan Party government led the province's response to the COVID-19 pandemic , rejecting an early call for the establishment of an all-party committee, including non-partisan experts. While the government instituted a broad range of public health measures throughout much of the first two years of the pandemic, the province

2139-414: Is forecast to exceed $ 30 billion in 2024. The Saskatchewan Party has favoured decentralization of administration in the education system. In 2012, the party introduced public funding for qualified independent schools. The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation has accused the Saskatchewan Party of pursuing a privatization agenda by 'siphoning' funds from the public system into the private sector. In 2023,

2232-530: Is manifest in the obsession with the quality of electoral opposition, and its sidelining or ignoring of popular political activity organised in other ways. The assumption in this approach is that other forms of organisation and opposition are of limited importance or a separate matter from the consolidation of their version of democracy." One of the dangers of dominant parties is "the tendency of dominant parties to conflate party and state and to appoint party officials to senior positions irrespective of their having

2325-490: Is valid. Raymond Suttner , himself a former leader of the African National Congress (ANC), argues that "the dominant party 'system' is deeply flawed as a mode of analysis and lacks explanatory capacity. But it is also a very conservative approach to politics. Its fundamental political assumptions are restricted to one form of democracy, namely electoral politics, and display hostility towards popular politics. This

2418-429: The 2024 provincial election , Moe announced his intent to immediately enact rules requiring school students to use the changing rooms that correspond to their biological sex. The Saskatchewan Party has favoured investment in technology to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reductions, including carbon capture and small modular nuclear reactors . Under the party, the province has the highest GHG emissions per capita in

2511-425: The 2006 federal election. Warren Steinley and Corey Tochor are Conservative MPs who previously served as Saskatchewan Party MLAs. Brad Wall was considered a contender for leadership of the federal Conservatives ahead of leadership elections in 2017 and 2019, but both times he declined to enter the race. Wall did, however, play a behind-the-scenes role in founding an American-style political action committee called

2604-600: The Apartheid-era National Party in South Africa had the support of Afrikaners who make up the majority of White South Africans while English-speaking white South Africans tended towards more liberal and reform-oriented parties like the Progressive Federal Party . Sub-national entities are often dominated by one party due to the area's demographic being on one end of the spectrum or espousing

2697-458: The Buffalo Project in 2018. The project was designed to lobby and fund political candidates with the aim of electing conservatives provincially and federally. As recently as the 2023 Saskatchewan Party convention, the Saskatchewan and Conservative parties endorsed each other. At that convention, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre praised the Saskatchewan Party for its legal battles against

2790-532: The PC emphasis on rural issues throughout the 1980s. With neither the PCs nor the Liberals seeing a clear path to defeating the NDP, four MLAs from each party, all representing rural districts, agreed to walk away from their parties and form a new one. In August 1997, PC MLAs Boyd, Dan D'Autremont , Ben Heppner , and Don Toth joined former Liberal MLAs Bob Bjornerud , June Draude , Rod Gatefoer , and Ken Krawetz in announcing

2883-615: The Progressive Conservative expense fraud scandal, the party also drafted a Code of Ethics in 2006, intending to commit members to a standard of ethical conduct under threat of suspension. When it was revealed in 2006 that the party had received a $ 10,000 donation from Imperial Tobacco, Wall created a policy banning such donations. In the lead-up to the 2007 election, Wall also sought to put to rest fears about privatization, stating that "Crowns are not going to be privatized and (subsidiaries) are not going to be wound down". In 2007,

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2976-683: The Progressive Conservatives effectively went dormant, running only paper candidates to keep the party registered over the next election cycles. This, along with the broad migration of PC members and staff to the new party, led to accusations by the NDP and the Liberal Party that the new party was merely a rebranding of the scandal-plagued PCs. Romanow often referred to the new party as the "Saskatories". In April 1998, former Member of Parliament and Reform Party house leader Elwin Hermanson

3069-423: The Saskatchewan Party has been variously described as centre-right , right-wing , populist , neoliberal , and Christian conservative; however, there have been some consistent trends over time, with more moderate labels generally giving way to more conservative ones since the party first formed government. The party has also been described as right-wing populist . Although there was some tendency to describe

3162-487: The Saskatchewan Party has continued its focus on federal relations, charging the federal Liberal government with harming the province's economic interests. Only weeks after he took office, Moe's government challenged the federal carbon tax in court, which ultimately made its way to the Supreme Court. In March 2021, the tax was ruled to be constitutional. Moe has consistently called for greater provincial autonomy, calling for

3255-524: The Saskatchewan Party was sued by the Progressive Conservatives over access to the nearly-$ 3 million PC trust fund. The PCs alleged the fund's trustees—three of whom were active in the Saskatchewan Party—conspired with the Saskatchewan Party to deny them access to their funds as they tried to re-launch the party from its dormancy. The case was not settled until 2014, when PC leader Rick Swenson announced that his party had been given control of

3348-440: The Saskatchewan Party. A number of Conservative MPs have been involved with the Saskatchewan Party. Examples include Carol Skelton , who served on Elwin Hermanson's constituency executive; Tom Lukiwski , who served as a General Manager of the Saskatchewan Party; Garry Breitkreuz , who supported the formation of the party; and Lynne Yelich , who worked for Allan Kerpan while Kerpan served as MP and received funding from him in

3441-411: The ability for an effective opposition to thrive, institutional and/or organizational conventions that support the status quo, occasional but not omnipresent political repression , or inherent cultural values averse to change. In some states opposition parties are subject to varying degrees of official harassment and most often deal with restrictions on free speech (such as press laws), lawsuits against

3534-411: The basis that these parties have long held the majority of seats in parliament (although they do not directly form the government or appoint officials to government positions). In Russian political science literature, such associations are often called "parties of power". It is believed that a system with a dominant party can be either authoritarian or democratic. However, since there is no consensus in

3627-495: The budget translated to Wall and the Saskatchewan Party, and in August Wall announced that he would be retiring from politics, with a plan to step away when a new leader was chosen and sworn in as premier in early 2018. The leadership race to succeed Wall as premier ultimately featured five candidates: first-term Regina MLA Tina Beaudry-Mellor ; veteran Saskatoon MLA Ken Cheveldayoff , civil servant Alanna Koch , who had served as

3720-414: The caucus after it was revealed that she lied about her COVID vaccination status. Both parties have managed second-place finishes in rural ridings, and Moe has openly addressed their supporters. The Saskatchewan Party's response is evident in new education policies unveiled just weeks before the new school year in the summer of 2023. The policies restrict sexual health education, including a prohibition on

3813-403: The deputy minister to the premier; MLA and environment minister Scott Moe ; and another veteran Saskatoon MLA, Gordon Wyant . A sixth candidate, former MP Rob Clarke , withdrew from the race, but his name still appeared on the ballot. At the party's 2018 leadership convention , Moe was elected leader on the fifth ballot. He was sworn in as premier on February 2, 2018. Under Moe's leadership,

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3906-417: The education system to teach and uphold compliance. The recruiting, disciplining, and training of teachers allow for authoritarian governments to control teachers into following their objective: to foster compliance from the youth. Another way that they maintain control is through hosting elections. Even though they would not be fair elections, hosting them allows citizens to feel that they have some control and

3999-479: The election, and ultimately increased its seat count to 28. However, the NDP increased its share of the vote and won 30 seats, returning to a majority. The result was seen as a major letdown for the Saskatchewan Party, and Hermanson resigned as leader shortly afterward. Brad Wall , a former ministerial assistant in the Devine government who helped launch the party and was first elected as a MLA for Swift Current in 1999,

4092-530: The environment and resource development, including the carbon tax and environmental assessments. The Saskatchewan Party introduced the Lean program to the healthcare system in a bid to cut costs. The party has persistently expanded the use of private clinics and privatized services within the public system. In 2023, the government paid a private Calgary clinic $ 10 million to perform surgeries for Saskatchewan residents. The Saskatchewan Party has increased immigration to

4185-501: The fall, and the Saskatchewan Party under Moe was re-elected to its fourth majority. Since 2020, observers have noted a further rightward shift by the Saskatchewan Party, owing at least in part to the emergence of new right-wing provincial parties including the separatist Buffalo Party and the Saskatchewan United Party . The latter was founded and first led by former Saskatchewan Party MLA Nadine Wilson , who resigned from

4278-465: The federal government in Alberta 's successful constitutional challenge against the 2019 federal Impact Assessment Act , which was struck down in 2023. After the 2019 federal election , Moe called for a "New Deal with Canada", espousing sentiments of western alienation and demanding expanded provincial powers in areas like immigration, taxation, and policing. After the 2020 provincial election , in which

4371-576: The federal government over resource and environmental policies, while Moe endorsed Poilievre and the Conservatives ahead of the next federal election. † denotes acting or interim leader Natural governing party A dominant-party system , or one-party dominant system , is a political occurrence in which a single political party continuously dominates election results over running opposition groups or parties. Any ruling party staying in power for more than one consecutive term may be considered

4464-426: The first time since 1975, was being weakened by internal disputes. The New Democratic Party (NDP) under Roy Romanow took power in 1991, and rapidly addressed the fiscal crisis, balancing the province's finances by 1995. However, this process involved numerous cuts to services that were seen as disproportionately affecting rural residents, deepening an urban-rural divide in the province that had already been widened by

4557-474: The fledgling party into its first election in 1999 on this platform. The party had a strong showing, narrowly edging out the NDP in the popular vote and sweeping rural districts across the province, demonstrating the growing cleavage between urban and rural areas; the party won only a single urban seat. Overall, the SP won 25 seats and reduced the NDP—which won 29—to a minority government . The party acknowledged

4650-522: The formulation of the Saskatchewan Party, and many Reform members were involved in its establishment. The Saskatchewan Party's first leader, Elwin Hermanson, had been a Reform MP. In 2000, Reform rebranded as the Canadian Alliance , and in 2003 the Alliance merged with the Progressive Conservatives to form the new Conservative Party of Canada , which since its inception has had significant overlap with

4743-481: The founding of the Saskatchewan Party. The new party was officially registered on September 17, and with eight sitting MLAs, took over the status of Official Opposition. Krawetz, who had been serving as the leader of the Opposition with the Liberals, maintained that role when he became the interim leader of the new party. While these MLAs were the public face of the new party, the process that led to its formation involved

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4836-632: The fund. By 2007, Wall's efforts to broaden the party's appeal appeared poised to pay off. In the 2007 provincial election on November 7, the Saskatchewan Party won 38 seats to form a majority government, making Wall the province's 14th premier. By all accounts, the Saskatchewan Party formed government at an opportune time, inheriting a strong economy buoyed by still-rising commodity prices, including oil, potash, and agricultural products. Wall's government immediately used rising revenues to institute significant tax cuts, particularly income tax cuts, and to service debt reduction—in its first full fiscal year,

4929-521: The global political science community on a set of mandatory features of democracy (for example, there is a point of view according to which the absence of alternation of power is, in principle, incompatible with democratic norms), it is difficult to separate the two types of one-party dominance. Dominant-party systems are commonly based on majority rule for proportional representation or majority boosting in semi-proportional representation . Plurality voting systems can result in large majorities for

5022-560: The government a reputation as "pragmatic". The most significant exception to this was the party's labour policy, which has been seen as traditionally conservative since the party first gained power. Over time, there has been a notable decrease in Liberal influence in the party, which may be partly attributable to the continued presence of the provincial Liberal Party. However, it has been noted that during their first decade in government, most party members with Liberal backgrounds retired or left

5115-419: The government paid down close to $ 3 billion in debt. The government released a plan for growth, calling for annually balanced budgets and for provincial debt to be halved by 2017. However, the government's next three budgets ran deficits. The government also explored the idea of setting up a new "rainy day fund", something the NDP had done in the 1970s, building an investment fund out of windfall resource prices;

5208-422: The government ultimately opted not to, despite the report it commissioned recommending it do so. Wall's government also immediately introduced labour reforms with two bills in 2007, with one restricting unionization and the other the right to strike for more than 65,000 workers deemed to be working in "essential services". The latter law faced legal challenges, and in 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that

5301-430: The healthcare system. The government also applied the Lean program, designed to find cost savings, to the health care system; a 2016 report found that the controversial program cost the province more than $ 1,500 for every dollar saved. In 2012, the province also began providing public funding to independent private schools; while such private schools are expected to teach the provincial curriculum, it has been reported that

5394-559: The involvement of third parties like sexual health centres, and require parental consent for students under 16 wishing to have their chosen names and pronouns affirmed at school. When an injunction was granted against the policy over concerns about harm to students, the government legislated the policy in the Parents' Bill of Rights and invoked the notwithstanding clause to protect the law against Charter challenges. Moreover, Moe has publicly entertained conspiracy theories, including stating at

5487-540: The largest takeover in Canadian history. However, Wall argued that the province would lose significant resource revenues, and that the takeover was against Canada's strategic interests. The federal government blocked the deal. The Saskatchewan Party government also significantly increased immigration to the province, making it a central policy goal, bolstering a process that had begun under the NDP—the revamped immigration process

5580-423: The law was unconstitutional. Although Wall suggested a willingness to use the notwithstanding clause to keep the law, the government never did so. In 2010, Wall and his government rose to national prominence for their opposition to a proposed takeover of Saskatoon-based PotashCorp —the world's largest potash producer—by Australian mining company BHP . The proposed deal, worth nearly $ 40 billion, stood to become

5673-601: The lead-up to the 2024 Saskatchewan general election , a number of other former party members disavowed the direction of the party and endorsed the NDP. In the 2024 provincial election, the Saskatchewan Party saw its support drop; however, the party won enough seats to form its fifth consecutive majority government. That majority was reduced from seventeen seats to three by a resurgent NDP, which achieved its best electoral performance since 2003 in taking all of Regina 's districts and all but one in Saskatoon . Since its inception,

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5766-693: The legislation. The bill passed its third and final reading on March 16, 2023. A first tribunal was named under the Saskatchewan First Act on November 28, 2023, to inquire into the federal Clean Electricity Regulations , which are to be implemented under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 , as administered by the Minister of the Environment . Saskatchewan Party The Saskatchewan Party ( SP or Sask Party )

5859-588: The mid-2010s. Moreover, observers have noted that the party in recent years appears to be increasingly influenced by trends found in American conservative and far-right movements, including through its tendency to promote " culture wars ", or issues with stark ideological contrasts. The Saskatchewan Party has professed to be a free-market party. Political scientist Charles Smith has argued that this position has been somewhat tempered by strong Saskatchewan traditions of supporting crown corporations and unionization. As

5952-527: The most serious effects would not become clear for several years. In fact, in 2014—the year of a significant oil price crash—the province was awarded a AAA credit rating. It was also during this term that Justin Trudeau 's Liberals formed a majority federal government, which led to frequent clashes between Regina and Ottawa. Shortly after the new federal government announced a plan to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada, Wall wrote to Trudeau and asked him to suspend

6045-413: The nation. The party has opposed federal environmental regulation, including the federal carbon tax. The province released its own climate change strategy in 2017, which has been criticized by experts for its weak targets and lack of enforcement mechanisms. While the province touts high standards of environmental regulation, much of this regime is self-monitored on the part of industry. A lack of oversight

6138-637: The need to broaden its appeal to urban areas, and discussed moderating its social conservative image. It tabled or defeated motions at its annual conventions dealing with taxation of Indigenous residents and publicly-funded abortions. Ahead of the 2003 provincial election , the party again campaigned on a platform of tax reductions and decreased government involvement in the economy. However, it remained bogged down by questions about its conservatism and in particular its plans for crown corporations, with Hermanson continuing to state that he would be willing to entertain offers for them. The SP still led polling going into

6231-532: The new party was "not anti-urban." Hermanson declined to run in a 1998 Saskatoon by-election, instead waiting for the next general election to run for a seat. Under Hermanson, the party put forward an ambitious fiscal conservative platform, calling for major corporate and income tax cuts. These policies were joined by a number of controversial and social conservative policies, from a commitment to consider privatizing crown corporations to work-for-welfare policies and an end to public affirmative action. Hermanson led

6324-412: The opposition, and rules or electoral systems (such as gerrymandering of electoral districts) designed to put them at a disadvantage. In some cases outright electoral fraud keeps the opposition from power. However, some dominant-party systems occur, at least temporarily, in countries that are widely seen, both by their citizens and outside observers, to be textbook examples of democracy. An example of

6417-438: The party at its inception as centre-right, owing to the party's foundation that joined together former Conservative and Liberal Party members, the earliest days of the party were dominated by discussions of its conservatism. The party had to work hard to moderate its image to achieve greater electoral success. It was successful, and in its early years in power it was commonly labelled centre-right. Moreover, there appeared to be

6510-601: The party for an ethnicity or race with the party for the majority ethnic, racial or religious group dominating, e.g., the African National Congress in South Africa (governing since the end of apartheid in 1994) has strong support amongst Bantu peoples of South Africa and the Ulster Unionist Party governed Northern Ireland from its creation in 1921 until 1972 with the support of the Protestant majority. Similarly,

6603-435: The party has increasingly focused its attention on the federal government and espoused sentiments of western alienation within the Canadian federation. The Saskatchewan Party arose from a distinct political climate in the 1990s. The Progressive Conservatives led two consecutive majority governments from 1982 to 1991 under the leadership of Grant Devine . However, economic challenges, the party's profligate spending—which left

6696-416: The party introduced a Parents' Bill of Rights , which regulated the use of pronouns and gendered names in schools by requiring staff to inform parents if the student wants to go by a different name or gender identity, requiring parental consent for children under the age of 16 who wished to change their preferred pronouns while at school and placed restrictions on sexual health education in schools. During

6789-428: The party passed a bill that would allow the government to privatize up to 49% of a crown corporation without public consultation; however, the law was repealed in 2018 in the face of public backlash. The party has also focused on bolstering direct trade relationships with other countries, establishing trade offices and conducting trade missions around the globe. The party has tended to run deficits, and provincial debt

6882-420: The party. This was evident during the party's 2018 leadership race, when social conservative issues like restricting abortion access became a topic of discussion for the first time since the party's earliest days. There has been an increasing tendency to describe the Saskatchewan Party as right-wing and neoliberal, especially since the party began pursuing austerity policies when faced with economic challenges in

6975-508: The political dynamics of other dominant multi-party constellations such as consociationalism , grand coalitions and two-party systems , which are characterized and sustained by narrow or balanced competition and cooperation. In political literature, more than 130 dominant party systems between 1950 and 2017 were included in a list by A. A. Ostroverkhov. For example, in the post-Soviet states, researchers classify parties such as United Russia and Amanat ( Kazakhstan ) as dominant parties on

7068-403: The population. Coercive distribution can control citizens and economic elites through land reform, poverty alleviation, public health, housing, education, and employment programs. Further, they distribute private goods to the winning coalition (people who are necessary for its reign) in order to stay in power. Giving the winning coalition private goods also prevents civil conflict. They also use

7161-548: The previous election. The Party was faced with major challenges early in this term, including a significant scandal involving questionable land deals during the development of the Global Transportation Hub , an inland port outside of Regina. Concerns resulted in an RCMP investigation, and although no criminal charges were laid, the Party refused to launch a public inquiry and made efforts to keep GTH-related information from

7254-556: The program, citing security concerns. Another significant development during the term was the opening of a carbon capture facility at the Boundary Dam coal power plant in Estevan, the first such industrial-scale facility in the world. Throughout this term, Wall persistently polled as the most popular premier in the country. Wall and the Saskatchewan Party won a third term in the 2016 provincial election , with results closely aligning with

7347-475: The province on the brink of bankruptcy—a close association with Brian Mulroney 's unpopular federal PCs , and a major expense fraud scandal that resulted in prison time for several members of the party all severely damaged the PCs. Under the leadership of Bill Boyd , the PCs lost nearly half of their vote share in 1995 compared to 1991, and the party was reduced to five MLAs. The Liberal Party, meanwhile, despite returning to Official Opposition status in 1995 for

7440-444: The province's new natural governing party . 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

7533-432: The province, and has advocated for greater provincial control over the immigration process. The Saskatchewan Party is not officially affiliated with any federal political party. However, the party has long been attached with federal conservatives, who since the turn of the twenty-first century have largely dominated federal politics in Saskatchewan. The populist Reform Party of Canada was often cited as an inspiration for

7626-514: The provincial sales tax and cuts to spending in a wide range of areas, including education, social services, libraries—the only cuts the province reversed in response to public protests—and grants to municipalities. The budget also brought the closure of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company . The budget was criticized for its disproportionate impact on the public sector, with corporate taxes remaining low. The unpopularity of

7719-501: The public. By 2020, the GTH had fallen $ 46 million into debt. Also during this term, the province frequently clashed with the federal government over resource and climate change policy. Saskatchewan refused to sign onto the Pan-Canadian climate change framework , leaving millions of dollars of funding on the table. In particular, the government expressed staunch opposition to the imposition of

7812-474: The required qualities." However, in some countries this is common practice even when there is no dominant party. In contrast to one-party systems , dominant-party systems can occur within a context of a democratic system as well as an authoritarian one. In a one-party system other parties are banned, but in dominant-party systems other political parties are tolerated, and (in democratic dominant-party systems) operate without overt legal impediment, but do not have

7905-439: The separatist Buffalo Party received more than 2.5% of the popular vote, Moe addressed Buffalo supporters, saying "[w]e share your frustrations, and we share many of your objectives" and calling for more "independence" and "autonomy" for the province. Moe reiterated these calls after the 2021 federal election , suggesting that Saskatchewan should be considered a "nation within a nation". In October 2022, Moe's government released

7998-459: Was acclaimed as the new party leader on March 15, 2004 after no one else entered the race to succeed Hermanson. Wall launched a review of party policies with a view to moderating the party's image. Through the review, the party abandoned many of its social conservative policies, such as "boot camp" correctional sentences and any discussion of abortions. Wall instead focused on economic issues and improvements to healthcare. Still facing questions about

8091-490: Was blamed for the 2016 Husky pipeline spill of over 200,000 litres of oil into the North Saskatchewan River . The Saskatchewan Party has advocated for greater autonomy for the province, citing areas like policing, immigration, and taxation as priorities. Its 2022 Saskatchewan First Act re-asserted the province's constitutional rights to natural resources. The province has challenged federal efforts at regulating

8184-422: Was elected the party's first leader. Hermanson defeated former Liberal MLA Gantefoer and political newcomer Yogi Huyghebaert for the position. Since Hermanson did not have a seat in the legislature, Krawetz remained as interim house Opposition leader. The new leader stated that while people "know I have the best interests of the agriculture industry and rural Saskatchewan at heart because that's where I still live",

8277-475: Was laid out in a report written by former MLA Pat Lorje . Consequently, most of the population growth observed in the province since 2007 is attributable to immigration; inter-provincial migration has remained a net loss for the province. One area in which the Saskatchewan Party did not follow the NDPs lead was in renewable energy. Former MLA Peter Prebble had helped to launch an energy conservation office and written

8370-399: Was one of the hardest hit provinces; the provincial health care system was heavily strained by the pandemic, and Moe's government was accused of failing to follow the recommendations of its public health officers. In early 2020, Moe considered calling a snap election, despite the fixed election law that the party passed in 2008. However, the 2020 provincial election ultimately proceeded in

8463-402: 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. In later years (and particularly under Moe's leadership), the party is considered to have taken a turn further to the right. Under both premiers, and especially since the election of a Liberal federal government in 2015,

8556-565: Was twice the first in Canada to lift all pandemic-related public health mandates, first in July 2021, and then in February 2022. Particularly once vaccines became widely available, Moe argued that the need for public health measures was diminished. By early 2022, Moe was vocal in his support of people protesting public health mandates, including the convoy that occupied downtown Ottawa. Overall, Saskatchewan

8649-515: Was widely criticized for its economic analysis and its lack of attention to Indigenous peoples and rights. However, the paper promised the introduction of a bill addressing federalism in the fall legislative sitting. The Saskatchewan First Act was introduced on November 1, 2022. The bill passed a second reading on November 28, with six members of the Opposition New Democratic Party joining the governing party in voting in support of

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