Saskatchewan Liberal Party
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Active provincial party | |
Leader | Darrin Lamoureux |
Founded | 1905 |
Headquarters | 845A McDonald Street Regina, Saskatchewan S4N 2X5 |
Ideology | Liberalism |
Political position | Centre |
Colours | Red |
Seats in Legislature |
0 / 61
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Website | |
saskliberals |
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The Saskatchewan Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
The party dominated Saskatchewan politics for the province's first forty years and provided six of the first seven Premiers who served between the province's creation in 1905 and World War II. Located on the middle of the political spectrum, it assiduously courted "ethnic" (i.e., non-British) voters and the organized farm movement. It refused to pander to "nativist" sentiment that culminated in the short, spectacular existence of the Ku Klux Klan in Saskatchewan in 1927–28. During the party's only spell out of power during this time following the 1929 election, it was the largest party in the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly. It did not command a majority of seats and was relegated to the opposition benches after Progressives and independents decided to join with the Conservatives in a coalition government.
In the 1944 election, however, Saskatchewan experienced a dramatic change when it elected the first democratic socialist government in North America under Tommy Douglas and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). The Liberals were nearly wiped off the map, dropping from a strong majority of 38 seats to only five—the worst defeat of a sitting government in the province's history. The Liberals moved to the political right and remained out of power for twenty years until Ross Thatcher's victory in 1964 election. Thatcher led the Liberals to re-election in 1967.