Conservative Party of Saskatchewan
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Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan
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| Active provincial party | |
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| Leader | Richard Swenson |
| President | Grant Schmidt |
| Spokesperson | Stuart Esson |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Headquarters | Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan |
| Ideology | Conservatism |
| Colours | Blue, White, and Orange |
| Seats in Legislature |
0 / 61
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| Website | |
| www |
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The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan is a right-of-centre political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Prior to 1942, it was known as the Conservative Party of Saskatchewan. Members are commonly known as .
The Conservative Party of Saskatchewan's first leader, Frederick W. A. G. Haultain, was so upset at sections of the federal legislation that created the province relating to immigration, education, and natural resources that he renamed the party the Provincial Rights Party for the 1905 and 1908 general elections. The party reverted to the Conservative name for the 1912 election, after which Haultain left politics to become Chief Justice of Saskatchewan. Its share of the popular vote declined from 32% to 5% between 1905 and 1921.
The Conservative Party's fortunes began to improve when James T.M. Anderson became leader in 1924. Anderson united opponents of the governing Liberal Party, and led the party to its best performance in the first half of the twentieth century in the 1929 election, when it won 36% of the popular vote and 24 out of 63 seats. Despite having fewer seats than the Liberals, the Conservatives were able to form a coalition government with Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and independents, and Anderson became Premier.
Anderson was able to use the racial and religious animosity created by the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Saskatchewan to gain support for Conservative policies on immigration and education. In 1928, Liberal Premier James Garfield Gardiner claimed that the Klan was a tool of the Conservative Party. The united opposition brought the Liberal government to defeat in the 1929 general election. The Anderson government introduced amendments to the Schools Act banning French as a language of instruction, and the display of religious symbols in Catholic schools. The Klan convention in 1930 applauded the Anderson government’s amendments to the School Act.
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