The Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan is a conservative, populist, and separatist
provincial political party in
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
. The party was established in 2020 and contested its first election that same year.
History
Wexit Saskatchewan
The
2019 federal election provided the impetus for the organization of the Buffalo Party. The
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
won every seat in Saskatchewan, and 54 out of 62 across the Prairie provinces, while the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
secured a minority government. The results stoked feelings of
western alienation
In Canadian politics, Western alienation is the notion that the Western provinces – British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba – have been alienated, and in some cases excluded, from mainstream Canadian political affairs in fav ...
, or the sense that western Canadian perspectives were being ignored at the federal level. Immediately after the election,
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe
Scott Moe (born July 31, 1973) is a Canadian politician serving as the 15th and current premier of Saskatchewan since February 2, 2018. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the riding of Rosthern-Shellbrook, first elect ...
proposed a "New Deal" with the federal government. He called for an end to the federal
carbon tax
A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more sev ...
, renegotiation of the
equalization formula, and the approval of new pipeline projects. In the weeks after the election, discussions began about the creation of a new western separatist party, a political strategy that had previously gained traction on the Prairies in the early 1980s, resulting in parties like the
Western Canada Concept
The Western Canada Concept was a Western Canada, Western Canadian federal political party founded in 1980 to promote the separation of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, and the Yukon and Northwest Territories ...
and the
Unionest Party
The Unionest Party was a provincial political party in Saskatchewan, Canada, in the early 1980s, that advocated union between the four western provinces of Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) and the United States.
The ...
. The new movement was dubbed the "Wexit" movement, a portmanteau of "western" and "exit" and a play on
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
.
The movement adopted the slogan "The West Wants Out", the inverse of
Preston Manning
Ernest Preston Manning (born June 10, 1942) is a Canadian retired politician. He was the founder and the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance in 2000 which in tur ...
's
Reform Party slogan from the 1980s, "The West Wants In".
In the fall of 2019, volunteers began collecting signatures to form a Wexit Party in Saskatchewan.
The group emphasized that their priority was to pressure Moe to hold a referendum on separation for the province, and that if he did not agree to do so they would form a party with that goal in mind.
While the
Saskatchewan Party
The Saskatchewan Party is a centre-right political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Since 2007, it has been the province's governing party; both the party and the province are currently led by Premier Scott Moe. The party was esta ...
government issued a statement that it was opposed to secession, former Sask Party
MLA—and Reform Party
MP—
Allan Kerpan
Allan Edward Joseph Kerpan (born 1954) is a Canadian politician. He is the current interim deputy leader of the Maverick Party, a right-wing Western Canadian separatist party.
Life and career
Kerpan was born on 9 December 1954 in Kenaston, S ...
acted as a spokesperson for the Wexit Saskatchewan group.
On March 10, 2020, Wexit Saskatchewan was officially registered as a provincial party by
Elections Saskatchewan
Elections Saskatchewan is the non-partisan organization which oversees general elections and by-elections for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.
References
External links
*
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and ter ...
, with Jake Wall serving as interim leader. Once registered, Wexit Saskatchewan proposed a referendum on independence in its platform.
Buffalo Party
In July 2020, the party announced that membership had voted to change its name to the Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan, and that Wall had stepped down as interim leader and had been replaced by Wade Sira, who was appointed by the party's board.
The Buffalo name was derived from the early twentieth century proposal to create one large western province called
Buffalo, before the federal government instead created two new provinces in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Sira stated that the party's priority remained independence, and that if a proposed referendum on separation failed to pass, the party would continue to advocate for greater sovereignty, including in the areas of immigration and natural resources. Sira pointed to
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
's position within Confederation as something the province could aim to emulate.
Other Wexit parties similarly rebranded. Wexit Canada became the
Maverick Party
The Maverick Party, formerly known as Wexit Canada, is a Canadian federal political party. It advocates for constitutional changes to benefit, or the independence of, Western Canada, which includes British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Mani ...
, while the Alberta party merged another, the
Freedom Conservative Party
The Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta (french: Parti de la liberté conservatrice de l'Alberta) was an Albertan Autonomism (political doctrine), autonomist, libertarian and conservative political party in Alberta, Canada.
The party was named ...
, to form the
Wildrose Independence Party.
Elections
The Buffalo Party ran seventeen candidates, including Sira, in the
2020 provincial election. The party ran on a platform opposing public health mandates—the 2020 election took place during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
—and proposing tax cuts; during the campaign, Sira also claimed that the province was not being negatively impacted by climate change.
The party surprised many by finishing second in four rural ridings and third in the provincial popular vote—with 2.6%—despite not running candidates in 44 of 61 districts.
The party had second place finishes to the Saskatchewan Party in
Cypress Hills,
Kindersley
Kindersley is a town surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Kindersley No. 290 in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located along Highway 7, a primary highway linking Calgary, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At a population of 4,597 ...
,
Estevan
Estevan is the eighth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the Canada–United States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5.
History
The ...
, and
Cannington—the only third party to secure a second place finish in any district.
Immediately after the election, in which Moe's Saskatchewan Party was re-elected, Moe made statements supporting greater independence and autonomy for Saskatchewan, stating that his government shared the "frustrations" and many of the "objectives" of Buffalo Party supporters. Moe would later adopt similar language to the Buffalo Party, calling for Saskatchewan to be recognized as a "nation within a nation" and for more autonomy in the areas of policing, immigration, and taxation.
On August 31, 2021, Sira was removed as interim leader of the party after a unanimous vote by the party's board.
Sira, who missed the meeting, said he found out about his removal through media reports.
After the decision was announced, nine party caucus members signed a letter criticizing the board decision and alleging that the board ignored conflicts of interest in making the decision; the members asserted that the caucus still had confidence in Sira's leadership.
The party board accused Sira of making unapproved financial commitments, which Sira denied.
The party planned to launch a formal leadership selection process at its annual general meeting in the fall of 2021.
Shirley Huber was chosen to replace Sira as interim leader.
On March 25, 2022, Phillip Zajac, who finished second as a Buffalo candidate in the Estevan riding in the 2020 provincial election, became the first elected leader of the Buffalo Party, defeating Clint Arnason, the party's candidate in the
2022 by-election in the
Athabasca
Athabasca (also Athabaska) is an anglicized version of the Cree name for Lake Athabasca in Canada, āthap-āsk-ā-w (pronounced ), meaning "grass or reeds here and there". Most places named Athabasca are found in Alberta, Canada.
Athabasca may a ...
riding.
Zajac appeared to soften the party's stance on independence, stating that the party desired more autonomy, and that it sought smaller government and lower taxes.
The party contested a
provincial by-election in September 2022 in
Saskatoon Meewasin
Saskatoon Meewasin is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. The district includes the neighbourhoods of River Heights, Richmond Heights, City Park, North Park, and Kelsey-Woodlawn.
As of the C ...
, with former
People's Party of Canada
The People's Party of Canada (french: Parti populaire du Canada, PPC) is a right-wing populist federal political party in Canada. The party was formed by Maxime Bernier in September 2018, shortly after his resignation from the Conservative Pa ...
candidate Mark Friesen as its candidate; Friesen, a prominent protestor of public health measures who was sent to Ontario for
intensive care
Intensive care medicine, also called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes pro ...
treatment for COVID-19, finished fourth. The party contested another
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
in August 2023 in
Lumsden-Morse
Lumsden-Morse is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the n ...
, again finishing fourth.
Ideology
While the Buffalo Party's primary aim as been to secure a referendum on independence for Saskatchewan, much of its politics have been described as traditionally right-wing and populist.
The party favours smaller government, lower taxes, and promotes individualism.
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of right-wing political movements in the province, and Zajac has stated that he has invited other groups to join the Buffalo Party. These include members of Unified Grassroots, an anti-vaccine mandate group that ultimately played a role in the formation of another new party, the
Saskatchewan United Party
The Saskatchewan United Party (SUP) is a political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
History
The party was registered with Elections Saskatchewan on 30 November 2022, with Nadine Wilson, MLA for Saskatchewan Rivers, becoming pa ...
, in 2022, and the Christian conservative group True North Saskatchewan, who were also seeking party registration in 2022.
In 2023, the Buffalo Party listed the "True North Declaration" as one of its party documents; the document, written by a British Columbia resident, is a Christian conservative populist manifesto asserting self determination for provinces and territories.
Electoral performance
![Buffalo Party election sign in Marengo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Buffalo_Party_election_sign_in_Marengo.jpg)
The 2020 provincial election was the Buffalo Party's first.
Party leaders
''†'' Denotes vacancy or acting/interim leader
See also
*
Politics of Saskatchewan
Politics of Saskatchewan relate to the Canadian federal political system, along with the other Canadian provinces. Saskatchewan has a lieutenant-governor, who is the representative of the Crown in right of Saskatchewan; premier, Scott Moe, leadi ...
References
External links
*
{{Canadian Conservative Parties
Conservative parties in Canada
Right-wing populism in Canada
Provincial political parties in Saskatchewan
Political parties established in 2020
Secessionist organizations in Canada
Pro-independence parties