Saskatchewan New Democratic Party
The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP) is a political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party and its predecessor, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), have ruled the province with only two interruptions since 1944, when Tommy Douglas' socialist CCF swept to power. Douglas resigned as Premier in 1961 to become the founding leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, which had been formed by a coalition of the CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress. The Saskatchewan CCF followed suit and adopted its current name after a transitional period as the NDP-CCF.
While the national CCF was founded in 1933 it was not until 1934 that the Saskatchewan section of the CCF was formally founded when the Farmer-Labour Group, which was a political organisation created by the United Farmers of Canada (Saskatchewan Section) and the province's Independent Labour Party, became the Saskatchewan CCF.
The Farmer Labour Group was founded in 1932 and fought the 1934 provincial election in which it received 24% of the vote but only five seats. Following the election the FLG formally became the Saskatchewan section of the CCF.
The party's greatest accomplishment was the introduction of North America's first comprehensive system of public medical insurance or Medicare (sometimes referred to as socialised medicine). The fight to introduce Medicare in the province was intense due to the opposition of the province's doctors backed by the American Medical Association who feared that the introduction of public health care in one part of the continent would spread if not stopped. The doctors went on strike but despite a concerted attempt to defeat Medicare the program was introduced and became so popular it was soon adopted across Canada. The turmoil of the Medicare fight took its toll, however, and the NDP-CCF government of Douglas' successor Woodrow S. Lloyd was defeated at the hands of Ross Thatcher's Saskatchewan Liberal Party in 1964.
The NDP (which soon dropped the CCF label entirely) rebuilt itself and returned to power in 1971 under Allan Blakeney until his governments defeat in 1982 and has been in office continually since 1992 when Roy Romanow became Premier.
The Romanow govrnement was more conservative than previous CCF/NDP governments and instituted a program of hospital closures and program cuts in order to eliminate the budget deficit inherited from Grant Devine's PC government. Romanow later quipped that he was a supporter of Tony Blair's Third Way concept before it even existed. The NDPs new found conservatism alienated some of its more left wing members who left the party and merged with the Greens to form the New Green Alliance.
Romanow almost lost the 1999 election and his government only stayed in office by forming a coalition government with the small Liberal party but as a result of the 2003 general election the NDP, now under Lorne Calvert, was able to form a majority government on its own.
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 Blakeney (July 4, 1970-November 7, 1987)
- Roy Romanow (November 7, 1987-January 27, 2001)
- Lorne Calvert (January 27, 2001-)
See also: Saskatchewan New Democratic Party leadership conventions