Saskatchewan has experienced a tremendous political transformation over the last few decades. Once seen as the heartland of socialism in Canada, it is now perhaps the most conservative province of all. The Conservative Party of Canada has dominated the province federally for several elections, and the Saskatchewan Party has won four large majority governments since 2007. This, from a province that used to commonly elect several NDP MPs in federal elections, and where the CCF-NDP was considered the natural governing party..The process of political metamorphosis is explained in the new book, 'From Left to Right: Saskatchewan's Political and Economic Transformation,' by Dale Eisler, a senior policy fellow at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy..Eisler’s historical overview of Saskatchewan politics since the late 1960s is masterful..When Tommy Douglas and his Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) won the 1944 Saskatchewan provincial election, it was the first time a socialist government had ever been elected in North America. That was a big deal. The CCF essentially became the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961, and remained in power until 1964. The NDP held power again from 1971 until 1982, and from 1991 until 2007. At the provincial level, the CCF-NDP dominated Saskatchewan for more than 60 years, and also commonly elected numerous MPs from Saskatchewan in federal elections..It's not like that anymore. For well over a decade, centre-right parties have crushed the NDP in elections at both levels in Saskatchewan..One underlying aspect to understand is Saskatchewan’s populist nature. Populist leaders tend to do well, regardless of their ideology. Although there was a distinct collectivist streak to Saskatchewan’s political culture in the mid-twentieth century, populism could overcome it. This was clear in the late 1950s and early 1960s when John Diefenbaker was the federal Progressive Conservative (PC) leader. In Saskatchewan, many voters who supported Tommy Douglas and his CCF provincially, also supported Diefenbaker and his PCs federally..As Eisler explains, “The key ingredient was not ideology, but populism. Both Douglas and Diefenbaker were seen as prairie populists who would stand up against the political and business establishment of central Canada, which represented the political base of the federal Liberals.”. Book cover .An important factor in Saskatchewan’s shift to the right is the technological progress made in farming methods. At the time the CCF was first elected, farms were relatively small and labour intensive. Farmers had to work together to protect their interests through co-operative organizations (e.g., Canadian Wheat Board and the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool), thus generating a collectivist mindset that carried over into politics..However, as new technologies were applied to farming, one farmer could accomplish much more than several farmers of previous generations. This had political implications. As Eisler notes, “gradually, as mechanization increased farm productivity and economics drove consolidation of farms, farmers themselves became operators of larger business enterprises. It was an inexorable evolution that slowly undermined the collectivist and co-operative traditions integral to Saskatchewan agriculture.”.The result was that a new generation of farmers adopted “the political beliefs of independent businesspeople who responded to political messages shaped by a market economy.”.Next to consider is the rollback of Crown corporations. The CCF-NDP believed in using government ownership to guide Saskatchewan’s economic development. For example, the NDP government of Allan Blakeney created the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan to control much of Saskatchewan’s potash industry..However, the PCs under Grant Devine won the 1982 provincial election and they believed in free enterprise. To make a long story short, in the late 1980s the PC government embarked upon a widespread privatization program to sell off many of Saskatchewan’s crown corporations. According to Eisler, this “became an emphatic turning point in the transformation of the economy and politics of Saskatchewan.”.The privatization of the Potash Corporation was an especially consequential act. “It was a body blow to the NDP because it erased a critical part of its identity that the party has been unable to reclaim.”.During the 1980s, prices for Saskatchewan’s agricultural and resource products were very low. As a result of the consequent reduced revenues, the Devine government ran large deficits, increasing Saskatchewan’s debt. When the NDP led by Roy Romanow came to power in 1991, they were faced by a financial crisis. Remarkably, Romanow’s government embarked on an austerity program that wrestled Saskatchewan’s financial situation under control..However, part of that program involved shutting down dozens of underutilized rural hospitals across the province. This turned the rural community decisively against the NDP, and that party’s former rural support never returned. This, too, has contributed to the province’s political change..The Saskatchewan Party, formed in 1997 as a coalition of former PC and Liberal MLAs, immediately became the party of rural Saskatchewan. Support grew rapidly. When Brad Wall became leader in 2004, the party became stronger than ever, winning the next three provincial elections with decisive majorities..Eisler credits Wall with much of this success: “It is one thing to win and another to win with overwhelming majorities. By that yardstick, Brad Wall stands alone. Three majority governments, each one larger than the one before and, in the process, relegating the opposition to the political margins, give Wall a unique political stature.”.Indeed, Wall himself has played an important role in the province’s transformation: “When you add his populist image as a pragmatist, coupled with undeniable communication skills, it is clear that Wall, more than anyone, realigned Saskatchewan politics in the first two decades of the twenty-first century.”.In short, a province once seen as the cornerstone of Canadian socialism is now dominated by the centre-right. The fact that the NDP has lost its dominance is key evidence of Saskatchewan’s political transformation. From Left to Right is a fascinating and deeply informed book that clearly explains that province’s political metamorphosis.
