Saskatchewan United Party officially registered as provincial political party

A new political party fronted by a former Saskatchewan Party caucus member has been officially registered in the province.

The Saskatchewan United Party (SUP), created by independent MLA Nadine Wilson, was added to the province’s register of political parties on Nov. 30.

“What I will do is continue to fight for the people of Saskatchewan Rivers and the province,” Wilson said Thursday.

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Wilson resigned from the government caucus in 2021 after “misrepresenting her vaccination status.” She has served as an independent MLA representing the Saskatchewan Rivers constituency since.

She was joined at the legislature on Thursday by a group of people who said they suffer from adverse vaccine reactions.

Wilson's former Saskatchewan Party colleagues want to see the new movement nipped in the bud.

"Now that she is leader, I think that she should take this opportunity to face the voters of her constituency in Saskatchewan Rivers and run as leader of her party in a by-election," said Sask. Party MLA Everett Hindley.

Political parties must meet a set of requirements before becoming registered. Those include submitting a petition signed by 2,500 voters, 1,000 of whom live in at least 10 different constituencies with a minimum of 100 votes from each of those constituencies, according to Elections Saskatchewan.

“In Saskatchewan, a political party must be registered to incur expenses, solicit, and receive contributions, participate in the province’s political contributions tax credit regime, and field candidates for election to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan,” Elections Saskatchewan said in a news release.

To receive funding, a political party needs to have a minimum of two MLAs so the Saskatchewan United Party does not quality for that.

According to the Legislative Assembly Act, there needs to be two members in the definition of "caucus."

Currently, Nadine Wilson sits as an independent member. That status in the legislature will continue but the party will be named on election ballots.

There are now seven registered political parties in the province, with three who have MLAs in the legislature.