These are the 3 longest serving governments in Saskatchewan's history
Following the Saskatchewan Party’s formation of a fifth straight majority, the party will enter historic territory as one of the province’s three longest serving governments.
The Saskatchewan Party held onto the majority despite major gains for the NDP within Saskatchewan’s two major urban centres.
Here’s a look at the top three longest serving governments in the province’s history with the Saskatchewan Party set to overtake second place before the next set election date in 2028.
1. Saskatchewan Liberals, 1905 to 1929
(Thomas Walter Scott, William Melville Martin, Charles Avery Dunning, James G. Gardiner)
Even before Saskatchewan’s first election in 1905, Thomas Walter Scott was effectively serving as Saskatchewan’s first premier under a “caretaker government”, set up after Saskatchewan and Alberta were created from the southern regions of the Northwest Territories.
The Liberals held onto power in the province’s first election, held on Dec. 13, 1905.
Scott and the Liberals defeated the Provincial Rights Party in 1905, 1908, then again in 1912 after the Provincial Rights Party was renamed the Conservative Party.
Following Scott’s resignation in 1916, William Melville Martin became premier, winning another pair of elections in 1917 and 1921.
Martin resigned in 1922 after facing controversy. He was replaced by Charles Dunning, who was re-elected in 1925 with a large majority over the Saskatchewan Progressive Party and the Conservatives.
Dunning stepped down as premier to run federally in 1926. His replacement, James Gardiner, served as premier until the Liberal dynasty that led Saskatchewan’s early years was toppled by a coalition government between the Progressives and the Conservatives after the 1929 election.
The change in government ended a nearly 24-year run of Liberal rule in the province, although Gardiner would return to power with a Liberal majority in 1934.
2. Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, 1944 to 1964
(Tommy Douglas, Woodrow Lloyd)
Considered the first social democratic government in North America, Tommy Douglas and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CFF) won the 1944 election with a strong majority of 47 seats in a 52-seat legislature.
The election was held during the height of Canada’s involvement in the Second World War, with D-Day taking place just over a month prior to election day.
The CCF would win a total of five elections with Douglas as leader, until he moved on to federal politics in the early days of the New Democratic Party and was replaced by Woodrow Lloyd in November 1962.
Under Lloyd, the CCF’s run of nearly 20 years in government came to an end in 1964, the party suffering defeat at the hands of Liberal challenger Ross Thatcher.
3. Saskatchewan Party, 2007 to present
(Brad Wall, Scott Moe)
Saskatchewan’s current governing party has already held power longer than the roughly 16 years of NDP governments that preceded it, and now, during its fifth majority, it’ll also surpass the CCF.
Born from a merger between former members of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and the Saskatchewan Progressive Conservatives, the Saskatchewan Party won its first election ten years after its formation in 2007, under the leadership of Brad Wall.
The Sask. Party was re-elected three times under Brad Wall, who announced in 2017 he’d be leaving politics.
The move triggered a leadership race, won by Scott Moe, who has since been re-elected twice in 2020 and 2024.
With a fifth straight majority, the Saskatchewan Party is expected to surpass the CCF’s time in government on Oct. 4, 2027, about a year before the anticipated 2028 election campaign.
The government will mark 20 years since Wall was first elected on Nov. 21, 2027.
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