The Social Credit Party of Saskatchewan (originally known as the Social Credit League of Saskatchewan) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

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 ...

that promoted

social credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

economic theories from the mid-1930s to the mid-1970s. Social Credit first appeared in Saskatchewan in the 1935 federal election, when the party received 20% of the popular vote and won two seats in Kindersley and The Battlefords. The party fought its first election campaign in the 1938 provincial election, and won 15.90% of the popular vote. Because Saskatchewan, like the other provinces and the federal government of Canada, uses the '

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

' system for electing its Legislative Assembly, only two of the 40 Social Credit candidates won election in 52 seats available in the legislature. MP

Joseph Needham Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, in ...

was president of the provincial party in the 1930s into the 1940s. In the subsequent election in 1944, Social Credit collapsed: it nominated only one candidate, who won only 249 votes (0.06% of the provincial popular vote). Social Credit recovered somewhat in the 1948 provincial election, nominating 36 candidates and winning 8.09% of the popular vote. In the 1956 provincial election, Social Credit nominated candidates in all 53 ridings, and won 21.48% of the popular vote, but only three of its candidates were elected. Its vote fell to 12.35% in the 1960 election. Although the party nominated a few candidates in the two subsequent elections, (

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

), it could not win more than 0.45% of the popular vote or win a seat. The party did not contest elections after 1967. Ed Nasserden, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, called for the merger of the two parties in November 1970. The Social Credit and Progressive Conservative Parties entered into talks about merging from November 1970 to February 1971. The move was mostly supported by the Progressive Conservatives, as some members of the Social Credit Party were, according to former leader Lloyd Avram, "...skeptical of our ability to get our views of monetary reform across in a merged party." Members of the Social Credit Party voted against a merger with the Progressive Conservative Party in February 1971. Following the vote, the Social Credit Party emerged as a divided party, and did not contest the 1971 and 1975 provincial elections. From 1971 to 1975 the Social Credit Party did not have a leader, and chose to focus on educating the people of Saskatchewan about the party's beliefs and values."Socreds Won't Field Candidates," ''The Leader-Post'', February 25, 1971, 4.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Social Credit Party Of Saskatchewan

Provincial political parties in Saskatchewan Defunct political parties in Canada 1930s establishments in Saskatchewan Political parties established in the 1930s 1970s disestablishments in Saskatchewan Political parties disestablished in the 1970s

See also

References