The premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan is the province's head of government since 1905. Saskatchewan uses a unicameral Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the premier is the leader of the party that has the support of a majority in the Legislative Assembly. The premier chooses a cabinet from the elected members to form the Executive Council of Saskatchewan, and presides over that body.
Members are first elected to the legislature during general elections. General elections must be conducted every five years from the date of the last election, but the premier may ask for early dissolution of the legislative assembly. An election may also happen if the governing party loses the confidence of the legislature, by the defeat of a supply bill or passage of a non-confidence motion.
Prior to 1905, Saskatchewan was part of the North-West Territories and was governed by the lieutenant-governor of the North-West Territories from 1870 until 1897, and the premier of the North-West Territories from 1897 to 1905.
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Electoral mandates (Assembly) | Political party | Riding | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Premiers of the North-West Territories | |||||||||
1 | Frederick W. A. G. Haultain (1857–1942) | 7 October 1897 | 1 September 1905 | Title created (3rd NW Leg.) | Non-partisan | MLA for Macleod | |||
Led negotiations for provincial status for Alberta and Saskatchewan. Later led the Provincial Rights Party. [1] | |||||||||
Premiers of Saskatchewan | |||||||||
1 | Thomas Walter Scott (1867–1938) | 12 September 1905 | 20 October 1916 | Title created (caretaker government) | Liberal (Ldr. 1905) | MLA for Lumsden (1905–1908) MLA for Swift Current | |||
2 | William Melville Martin (1876–1970) | 20 October 1916 | 5 April 1922 | Appointment (3rd Leg.) | Liberal (Ldr. 1916) | MLA for Regina City (1916–1921) MLA for Regina City #1 | |||
For a period of one year, the only premier to not be President of the Executive Council—Martin served as Minister of Education, while J. A. Calder was President of the Executive Council, until 20 October 1917. [2] | |||||||||
3 | Charles Avery Dunning (1885–1958) | 5 April 1922 | 26 February 1926 | Appointment (5th Leg.) | Liberal (Ldr. 1922) | MLA for Moose Jaw County | |||
4 (1 of 2) | James G. Gardiner (1883–1962) | 26 February 1926 | 9 September 1929 | Appointment (6th Leg.) | Liberal (Ldr. 1926) | MLA for North Qu'Appelle | |||
5 | James Thomas Milton Anderson (1878–1946) | 9 September 1929 | 19 July 1934 | Appointment (7th Leg.) | Conservative (Ldr. 1924) | MLA for Saskatoon City #1 | |||
First Premier to lead a minority coalition government. | |||||||||
— (2 of 2) | James Garfield Gardiner (1883–1962) | 19 July 1934 | 1 November 1935 | 1934 election (8th Leg.) | Liberal (Ldr. 1926) | MLA for Melville | |||
6 | William John Patterson (1886–1976) | 1 November 1935 | 10 July 1944 | Appointment (8th Leg.) | Liberal (Ldr. 1935) | MLA for Cannington | |||
First Premier born in Saskatchewan. [3] | |||||||||
7 | Tommy Douglas (1904–1986) | 10 July 1944 | 7 November 1961 | 1944 election (10th Leg.) | Co-operative Commonwealth (Ldr. 1942) | MLA for Weyburn | |||
8 | Woodrow Lloyd (1913–1972) | 7 November 1961 | 22 May 1964 | Appointment (14th Leg.) | Co-operative Commonwealth (Ldr. 1961) | MLA for Biggar | |||
First Premier born after the establishment of the province in 1905. | |||||||||
9 | Ross Thatcher (1917–1971) | 22 May 1964 | 30 June 1971 | 1964 election (15th Leg.) | Liberal (Ldr. 1959) | MLA for Morse | |||
10 | Allan Blakeney (1925–2011) | 30 June 1971 | 8 May 1982 | 1971 election (17th Leg.) | New Democratic (Ldr. 1970) | MLA for Regina Centre (1971–1975) MLA for Regina Elphinstone | |||
11 | Grant Devine (b. 1944) | 8 May 1982 | 1 November 1991 | 1982 election (20th Leg.) | Progressive Conservative (Ldr. 1979) | MLA for Estevan | |||
12 | Roy Romanow (b. 1939) | 1 November 1991 | 8 February 2001 | 1991 election (22nd Leg.) | New Democratic (Ldr. 1987) | MLA for Saskatoon Riversdale | |||
13 | Lorne Calvert (b. 1952) | 8 February 2001 | 21 November 2007 | Appointment (24th Leg.) | New Democratic (Ldr. 2001) | MLA for Saskatoon Riversdale | |||
14 | Brad Wall (b. 1965) | 21 November 2007 | 2 February 2018 | 2007 election (26th Leg.) | Saskatchewan (Ldr. 2004) | MLA for Swift Current | |||
15 | Scott Moe (b. 1973) | 2 February 2018 | incumbent | Appointment (28th Leg.) | Saskatchewan (Ldr. 2018) | MLA for Rosthern-Shellbrook |
Note: The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was succeeded by the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the 1960s. The party contested the 1964 election as the CCF-NDP.
Rank | Premier | Incumbency | Terms of office | Elections won | Party | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tommy Douglas | 17 years, 120 days | July 10, 1944 | November 7, 1961 | 5 | █ Co-operative Commonwealth |
2 | Thomas Walter Scott | 11 years, 38 days | September 12, 1905 | October 20, 1916 | 3 | █ Liberal |
3 | Allan Blakeney | 10 years, 312 days | June 30, 1971 | May 8, 1982 | 3 | █ New Democratic |
4 | Brad Wall | 10 years, 73 days | November 21, 2007 | February 2, 2018 | 3 | █ Saskatchewan |
5 | Grant Devine | 9 years, 177 days | May 8, 1982 | November 1, 1991 | 2 | █ Progressive Conservative |
6 | Roy Romanow | 9 years, 99 days | November 1, 1991 | February 8, 2001 | 3 | █ New Democratic |
7 | William John Patterson | 8 years, 252 days | November 1, 1935 | July 10, 1944 | 1 | █ Liberal |
8 | W. Ross Thatcher | 7 years, 39 days | May 22, 1964 | June 30, 1971 | 2 | █ Liberal |
9 | Lorne Calvert | 6 years, 286 days | February 8, 2001 | November 21, 2007 | 1 | █ New Democratic |
10 | Scott Moe (incumbent) | 6 years, 268 days | February 2, 2018 | Incumbent | 1 | █ Saskatchewan |
11 | William Melville Martin | 5 years, 167 days | October 20, 1916 | April 5, 1922 | 2 | █ Liberal |
12 | James Thomas Milton Anderson | 4 years, 313 days | September 9, 1929 | July 19, 1934 | 1 | █ Progressive Conservative |
13 | James Garfield Gardiner [lower-alpha 1] | 4 years, 300 days | February 26, 1926 | September 9, 1929 | 1 | █ Liberal |
July 19, 1934 | November 1, 1935 | |||||
14 | Charles Avery Dunning | 3 years, 327 days | April 5, 1922 | February 26, 1926 | 1 | █ Liberal |
15 | Woodrow Lloyd | 2 years, 197 days | November 7, 1961 | May 22, 1964 | 0 | █ Co-operative Commonwealth |
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