Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan

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    Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan
    Active provincial party
    LeaderPhil Zajac
    PresidentKris Carley
    FoundedMarch 10, 2020
    IdeologyLibertarianism
    ColoursYellow, blue
    Seats in Legislature
    0 / 61
    Website
    www.buffalopartybpsk.ca Edit this at Wikidata
    https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/eppp-archive/100/205/300/libertarian_party/2006-02-17/english/libertarianism.html

    The Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan is a libertarian provincial political party in Saskatchewan. The party was established in 2020 and contested its first election that same year.

    History[edit]

    The day after the 2019 federal election, Scott Moe, premier of Saskatchewan, proposed a "New Deal" with the federal government. He called for an end to the federal carbon tax, renegotiation of the equalization formula, and action on oil-pipeline projects.[1] In the weeks after the election, volunteers began collecting signatures to form a new party to promote the independence of Western Canada ("Wexit"). They called on Moe to hold a referendum on separation, saying that if he did not agree they would form a party to do so.[2][3]

    On March 10, 2020, Wexit Saskatchewan was registered as a provincial party by Elections Saskatchewan.[4][5] Its first interim leader was Jake Wall.[6][7] Once registered, Wexit Saskatchewan proposed a referendum on independence in its platform.[8]

    Buffalo Party logo used during the 2020 Saskatchewan general election

    On June 3, 2020, the party's executive board voted to change the party's name to Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan. That decision was ratified by a membership vote.[9][10] In July 2020, the party officially changed its name and named Wade Sira as its new interim leader.[10] The party ran seventeen candidates, including Sira, in the 2020 provincial election. They did not win any seats and finished in second in four ridings.[11]

    On August 31, 2021, interim leader Wade Sira was removed as leader of the party.[12]

    2022 leadership election[edit]

    On March 25, 2022, Phillip Zajac, the party's candidate in the Estevan riding in the 2020 provincial election, became the first elected leader of the Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan, defeating Clint Arnason, the party's candidate in the 2022 by-election in the Athabasca riding.[13]

    The party contested the September 2022 provincial by-election in Saskatoon Meewasin, with candidate Mark Friesen, who had been the People's Party of Canada candidate in Saskatoon—Grasswood in the 2021 federal election.[14][15]

    A lawn sign from the party's 2020 campaign.

    Electoral performance[edit]

    The Buffalo Party, despite having been registered only months before, finished second in four rural ridings, and finished third place in the overall popular vote in the 2020 provincial election with 2.56%, despite running far fewer candidates than the Green Party or the Progressive Conservatives. The party had second place finishes against the Saskatchewan Party in Cypress Hills, Kindersley, Estevan, and Cannington.[16]

    Summary of the 2020 Saskatchewan Legislature election
    Final results[17]
    Party Leader Candidates Seats Popular vote
    2016 Dissol. 2020 +/- Votes % % change
    Saskatchewan Scott Moe 61 51 46 48 -3 269,996 61.12 –1.41
    New Democratic Ryan Meili 61 10 13 13 +3 140,584 31.82 +1.54
    Buffalo Wade Sira (i) 17 0 0 0 ±0 11,298 2.56 New
    Green Naomi Hunter 60 0 0 0 ±0 10,033 2.27 +0.43
    Progressive Conservative Ken Grey 31 0 0 0 ±0 8,404 1.90 +0.62
    Liberal Robert Rudachyk (i) 3 0 0 0 ±0 355 0.08 –3.51
      Independent 3 0 0 0 ±0 1,076 0.24 –0.15
      Vacant 2 —
    Blank and invalid votes 3,265 0.73
    Total 236 61 61 61 0 445,011 100.00 0
    Eligible voters / turnout 841,807 52.86

    Party leaders[edit]

    # Party Leader Highest Position Tenure Notes
    * Jake Wall Interim Leader 2021 Interim
    * Wade Sira Interim Leader 2020-2021 Interim
    * Shirley Huber Interim Leader 2021-2022 Interim
    1 Phil Zajac Leader 2022-Present Elected March 25, 2022

    Kris Carley is the party president.

    See also[edit]

    Libertarian is a kind of politics that says the government should have less control over people's lives. It is based on the idea of maximum liberty. Libertarians believe that it is usually better to give people more free choice.

    References[edit]

    1. ^ Hunter, Adam. "Premier Moe demands 'new deal,' says he is handing Justin Trudeau a 'fire extinguisher'". CBC News. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
    2. ^ White-Crummey, Arthur (November 8, 2019). "Wexit party registration drive coming to Saskatchewan". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
    3. ^ Wiens, Colton (November 17, 2019). "Wexit Saskatchewan gathers signatures to form new party". CTV News. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
    4. ^ Charlton, Jonathan (March 10, 2020). "Wexit Saskatchewan slams Moe, Sask Party as it applies for official party status". CTV News. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
    5. ^ "Wexit Saskatchewan becomes official political party". CBC News. March 10, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
    6. ^ "Registered Political Parties". Elections Saskatchewan. 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
    7. ^ "Registered Political Parties (as of March 10, 2020)" (PDF). Elections Saskatchewan. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
    8. ^ "Platform". Wexit Saskatchewan. 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
    9. ^ Harding, Lee (June 10, 2020). "'Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan' set for a membership vote". Western Standard. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
    10. ^ a b Zinchuk, Brian (July 26, 2020). "Provincial separatist party rebrands, appoints new interim leader". Humboldt Journal. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
    11. ^ "2020 Elections Saskatchewan". results.elections.sk.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
    12. ^ Sciarpelletti, Laura (September 2, 2021). "Wade Sira caught off guard by ousting from role as interim leader of Buffalo Party of Sask". CBC News. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
    13. ^ "Estevan's Phillip Zajac is the new leader of the Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan". SaskToday.ca. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
    14. ^ "Former PPC candidate Mark Friesen sent to Ont. hospital with COVID-19, supporters say | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
    15. ^ "Saskatoon Meewasin byelection to be held on Sept. 26". Saskatoon. 2022-08-29. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
    16. ^ "Saskatchewan election: Buffalo Party takes larger than expected share of vote in debut | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
    17. ^ "2020 Elections Saskatchewan". Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2020-11-08.

    External links[edit]

    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buffalo_Party_of_Saskatchewan&oldid=1119120371"