Saskatchewan Party - The Party Under Brad Wall

The Party Under Brad Wall

Brad Wall was acclaimed as the new party leader on March 15, 2004, after being the only declared candidate for the leadership. Other caucus members who had expressed interest in running included Jason Dearborn, Allan Kerpan (a former Reform MP), and Ken Cheveldayoff, the MLA for Saskatoon Silver Springs who at one time was the President of the Young Progressive Conservatives of Saskatchewan.

Following his appointment as leader, Wall undertook a full review of party policies. He soon unveiled a more moderate policy platform that included, among other things, plans for more treatment beds for crystal meth addicts, democratic workplaces, and a new model for economic development in Saskatchewan. With significantly revised core policies and increased emphasis on social issues, the party is attempting to moderate its image to attract centre-right voters. In response to the results of the 2003 election, the entire Saskatchewan Party caucus voted in favour of the NDP's Crown Corporations Public Ownership Act, which provided legislative entrenchment for the ownership of the major crown utilities and services.

In February 2006, the party released a code of ethics document for its members. It set out guidelines for conduct and outlined how to deal with violators. Actions that are prohibited in this document include disseminating false information, pressuring prospective contributors and offering bribes to other political parties, candidates or voters. Penalties included having the offender's party membership revoked.

In a by-election held on March 5, 2007, the Saskatchewan Party recaptured the seat in the Legislative Assembly left vacant by the death of Ben Heppner. In a first for Saskatchewan politics, Heppner's daughter – Nancy Heppner – won the seat in both the by-election and the 2007 general election.

In November 2007, the party was sued by the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan over a trust fund. The PC party alleges that the trustees of the fund, which contains $2.9 million, conspired with the Saskatchewan Party to deny the PC party access to their funds, and thus not be able to run candidates in the next election. The Saskatchewan Party denies any involvement, even though 3 of the 5 trustees are active in the Saskatchewan Party.

In the November 7, 2007 general election, the Saskatchewan Party won 38 of the 58 seats in the legislature, forming a majority government.

In its first term, the Saskatchewan Party government undertook the largest single-year income tax reduction in Saskatchewan history, the largest amount of debt reduction in Saskatchewan history, the largest investment in infrastructure in Saskatchewan history, while still maintaining a $1.9 billion cash balance in the Growth and Financial Security Fund.

The Saskatchewan Party government also was successful in lobbying the federal government to block the takeover bid of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan from Australian mining giant BHP Billiton.

On November 7, 2011 general election, it won a landslide victory, winning 49 of 58 seats. All 18 cabinet ministers were re-elected, and the Saskatchewan Party captured a historic 64.2% of the popular vote. This resulted in the worst election showing for the NDP since 1982.