Saskatchewan has not always been a conservative stronghold

Scott Larson · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 4:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Saskatchewan has been solidly blimpish for decades, astatine slightest astatine the national level, but historiographer Bill Waiser says the state wasn't ever Tory blue.

The Liberals held sway from the inception of Saskatchewan successful 1905 close up until 1949, Waiser said.

"Our archetypal 2 premiers, Walter Scott and William Martin, they were really Liberal backbenchers successful Ottawa and they became premiers of Saskatchewan," Waiser said

"And past successful 1926, we had Mackenzie King, our longest-serving premier minister. He won a spot successful Prince Albert and truthful you person a premier curate representing the state until 1945."

In information determination was lone 1 blimpish premier (James Anderson from 1929-34) until Grant Devine came to powerfulness successful 1982. Devine was sandwiched betwixt years of provincial regularisation by the NDP.

But since 2007, the blimpish Saskatchewan Party has tally the province. 

Conservative roots

Federally, Waiser said blimpish fortunes changed erstwhile John Diefenbaker became Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and Canada's premier curate successful 1957.

Diefenbaker was the subordinate of Parliament for Prince Albert from 1953-79.

Waiser said Diefenbaker's populist connection resonated with Saskatchewan voters.

"He's got a programme focused connected agrarian Canada," Waiser said.

"One of his favourite lines was, 'Everybody's against maine but for the people.' "

Western alienation

When Pierre Trudeau became premier minister, national Liberal enactment successful the westbound collapsed .

Waiser said the ailment was that Trudeau was excessively focused connected Quebec and the constitution.

"You've got obstruction enactment abandonment nether Trudeau, and past successful ... Chretien successful 1995, you've got the sidesplitting of the Crow rate. So determination were a fig of things that the Liberals did that alienated Western Canada."

The Crow complaint was a obstruction proscription subsidy for Prairie farmers. When the Liberals won the 1993 election, Prime Minster Jean Chretien's authorities eliminated the subsidies.

So portion determination has been plentifulness of animosity toward the Liberals coming from Saskatchewan, it's not truly a caller phenomenon.

But Daniel Westlake, an adjunct prof of governmental subject astatine the University of Saskatchewan, said adjacent if the Liberals were to triumph the national election, helium doubts it would substance the thought of Western separatism.

"Part of this is due to the fact that the animosity toward the Liberals is not new, and successful the past, it has ne'er led to a superior menace of separatism," Westlake said.

"I conscionable don't deliberation determination is the consciousness of chiseled individuality arsenic divorced from Canada that is indispensable to substance a superior separatist movement," helium said, noting that adjacent agrarian Western Canadians explicit themselves successful protestation by utilizing the Canadian flag.

Waiser said the Reform Party, which came to the forefront successful the 1990s, championed Western issues similar assets improvement and assets taxation.

"They're not separatists similar the radical successful the 1980s who were upset with the equilibrium of powerfulness successful this country. [Reform Leader] Preston Manning's motto was the West wants in," Waiser said.

"And helium utilized that connection to go a unit successful Western Canadian authorities and accidental that Western Canada, Canadians privation to beryllium astatine the table, we privation to beryllium portion of this large nation, but they're ignoring our interests."

And Waiser says for now, conservatives stay entrenched successful this province.