To the surprise of most, the Buffalo Party debuted as Saskatchewan’s third most popular party. As leader Wade Sira said recently, “The buffalo is in the room”—something that obviously cannot be ignored..Although the Buffalo Party ran in only 17 of 61 ridings, the party took 2.9 per cent of the vote. This trailed the NDP’s 29.3 per cent and the Sask Party’s 63.3, but still beat the Green’s 2.4, the Progressive Conservatives’ 2.1, and the long-past-dead Liberals’ 0.1..The BP finished second to the Sask Party in four southeast and southwest ridings. In Estevan, former PPC candidate Phil Zajac received 25.5 per cent of the vote. He was far behind Sask Party incumbent Lori Carr’s 61.9 per cent, but also left the NDP in the dust at 5.9. Just east in Cannington, BP candidate Wes Smith got 16.2 per cent of the vote, and the NDP just 8.2. .It was the same story along much of the Alberta border. In Cypress Hills, which also borders the United States, Crystal Tiringer snagged 19.8 per cent, while the NDP got 8.7. Just north in Kindersley, Jason Cooper’s 15.2 per cent was well ahead of the NDP’s 6.3..These accomplishments are remarkable for a party that started from almost nothing one year ago, and is officially just seven months old. The Wexit Facebook page exploded after the Justin Trudeau Liberals won the federal election on October 19, 2019 without MPs in Alberta or Saskatchewan and 200,000 votes less than Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives..Wexit Saskatchewan became the province’s sixth official party in March, following a petition drive that gained 3,599 signatures. More changes came in July when Wade Sira was appointed interim leader and the party changed its name to the Buffalo Party. The name recalled the vision of Northwest Territories premier Sir Frederick Haultain, who advocated for one giant western province before Liberal Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier carved up Alberta and Saskatchewan..The election was called on September 29th, but two days later, the party cut off ties with Calgary-based Progressive Group of Independent Business. This left the party somewhat flat-footed in its campaign. On October 13, PGIB launched lawsuits for breach of contract against the party, Sira, and Humbolt-Watrous candidate Constance Maffenbeier..None of these growing pains, limited funds, and inexperienced candidates and volunteers prevented the party from taking a respectable 9.3 percent of the vote in constituencies it vied for..BP beat the Greens every time and took six of seven head-to-head battles against the PCs. That’s impressive because the PCs fielded 31 candidates and only trailed the Greens in three ridings, making this their best showing in 25 years. The PCs also still sit on a large legacy fund left to them from before the creation of the Saskatchewan Party. It might be time for the PC’s to say, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”.It was only four months ago that two small right-leaning parties merged in Alberta. The Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta officially began as the Alberta First Party in 1999. Despite being a far older organization, FCP members gave a 97 percent endorsement to merge with Wexit Alberta to form the Wild Rose Independence Party of Alberta..Pre-merger, the pending party polled at 10 per cent in third place behind the UCP and NDP. Since then, it has attracted a credible interim leader in Paul Hinman. .The synergy of a Saskatchewan merger would be just as advantageous. The PCs push for more social and fiscal conservatism, but lack a big idea to rally behind that would clearly distinguish them from the Sask Party. The western independence the Buffalo Party seeks is the biggest of big ideas and addresses a wide set of legitimate and heartfelt grievances..BP should also be interested because it has what the BP lacks: money. The PC’s may have nearly a million dollars saved up from its glory days. Given that the Sask Party raised $3.4 million last year, and the NDP $1.35 million, it would probably take the Buffalo Party the next four years just to get as much money as the PCs already have..A merger would also speed up the Buffalo Party’s groundwork in the cities. The PCs ran in two of Saskatoon’s 14 ridings, 10 of Regina’s 12 ridings, both of Prince Albert’s and one of Moose Jaw’s two. In these 28 ridings, the Buffalo Party only ran one Saskatoon candidate. A merger would leave only 20 of the 61 ridings without representation..Egos can be large in politics. That said, Sira is only the interim leader, and Grey is no bully. Sira placed 8th of 17 and Grey 15th of 31 in a rank of vote percentage against their respective parties’ other candidates. Although it’s true that leaders lose campaigning time as they spin plates for the party effort, their mediocre results at the local level leave neither in a position of dominance..Both leaders and their parties recap their election experience and consider next steps, they should also look to each other. They can do much more together than they can apart..Lee Harding is the Saskatchewan Correspondent for the Western Standard
To the surprise of most, the Buffalo Party debuted as Saskatchewan’s third most popular party. As leader Wade Sira said recently, “The buffalo is in the room”—something that obviously cannot be ignored..Although the Buffalo Party ran in only 17 of 61 ridings, the party took 2.9 per cent of the vote. This trailed the NDP’s 29.3 per cent and the Sask Party’s 63.3, but still beat the Green’s 2.4, the Progressive Conservatives’ 2.1, and the long-past-dead Liberals’ 0.1..The BP finished second to the Sask Party in four southeast and southwest ridings. In Estevan, former PPC candidate Phil Zajac received 25.5 per cent of the vote. He was far behind Sask Party incumbent Lori Carr’s 61.9 per cent, but also left the NDP in the dust at 5.9. Just east in Cannington, BP candidate Wes Smith got 16.2 per cent of the vote, and the NDP just 8.2. .It was the same story along much of the Alberta border. In Cypress Hills, which also borders the United States, Crystal Tiringer snagged 19.8 per cent, while the NDP got 8.7. Just north in Kindersley, Jason Cooper’s 15.2 per cent was well ahead of the NDP’s 6.3..These accomplishments are remarkable for a party that started from almost nothing one year ago, and is officially just seven months old. The Wexit Facebook page exploded after the Justin Trudeau Liberals won the federal election on October 19, 2019 without MPs in Alberta or Saskatchewan and 200,000 votes less than Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives..Wexit Saskatchewan became the province’s sixth official party in March, following a petition drive that gained 3,599 signatures. More changes came in July when Wade Sira was appointed interim leader and the party changed its name to the Buffalo Party. The name recalled the vision of Northwest Territories premier Sir Frederick Haultain, who advocated for one giant western province before Liberal Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier carved up Alberta and Saskatchewan..The election was called on September 29th, but two days later, the party cut off ties with Calgary-based Progressive Group of Independent Business. This left the party somewhat flat-footed in its campaign. On October 13, PGIB launched lawsuits for breach of contract against the party, Sira, and Humbolt-Watrous candidate Constance Maffenbeier..None of these growing pains, limited funds, and inexperienced candidates and volunteers prevented the party from taking a respectable 9.3 percent of the vote in constituencies it vied for..BP beat the Greens every time and took six of seven head-to-head battles against the PCs. That’s impressive because the PCs fielded 31 candidates and only trailed the Greens in three ridings, making this their best showing in 25 years. The PCs also still sit on a large legacy fund left to them from before the creation of the Saskatchewan Party. It might be time for the PC’s to say, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”.It was only four months ago that two small right-leaning parties merged in Alberta. The Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta officially began as the Alberta First Party in 1999. Despite being a far older organization, FCP members gave a 97 percent endorsement to merge with Wexit Alberta to form the Wild Rose Independence Party of Alberta..Pre-merger, the pending party polled at 10 per cent in third place behind the UCP and NDP. Since then, it has attracted a credible interim leader in Paul Hinman. .The synergy of a Saskatchewan merger would be just as advantageous. The PCs push for more social and fiscal conservatism, but lack a big idea to rally behind that would clearly distinguish them from the Sask Party. The western independence the Buffalo Party seeks is the biggest of big ideas and addresses a wide set of legitimate and heartfelt grievances..BP should also be interested because it has what the BP lacks: money. The PC’s may have nearly a million dollars saved up from its glory days. Given that the Sask Party raised $3.4 million last year, and the NDP $1.35 million, it would probably take the Buffalo Party the next four years just to get as much money as the PCs already have..A merger would also speed up the Buffalo Party’s groundwork in the cities. The PCs ran in two of Saskatoon’s 14 ridings, 10 of Regina’s 12 ridings, both of Prince Albert’s and one of Moose Jaw’s two. In these 28 ridings, the Buffalo Party only ran one Saskatoon candidate. A merger would leave only 20 of the 61 ridings without representation..Egos can be large in politics. That said, Sira is only the interim leader, and Grey is no bully. Sira placed 8th of 17 and Grey 15th of 31 in a rank of vote percentage against their respective parties’ other candidates. Although it’s true that leaders lose campaigning time as they spin plates for the party effort, their mediocre results at the local level leave neither in a position of dominance..Both leaders and their parties recap their election experience and consider next steps, they should also look to each other. They can do much more together than they can apart..Lee Harding is the Saskatchewan Correspondent for the Western Standard
