Elwin Norris Hermanson (born August 22, 1952) was a Canadian politician, best known for being the first full-time leader of 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 ...

. In

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

he was elected as a Reform Member of Parliament in the

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 ...

riding of

Kindersley—Lloydminster Kindersley—Lloydminster was a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1997. This riding was created in 1976 from parts of Battleford—Kindersley, Moose Jaw, Saskato ...

. He was the Reform Party House Leader from 1993 until 1995. Due to redistribution his hometown was located in the new constituency of

Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar (formerly known as Saskatoon—Rosetown) was a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2015. Geography The district consisted of the sou ...

for the 1997 election. He ran against fellow incumbent

Chris Axworthy Christopher S. Axworthy, (born March 10, 1947, Plymouth, United Kingdom)Roberts, David. Why Chris Axworthy feels at home. The Globe and Mail. October 30, 1999. p. A22 is a Canadian politician and academic. Law Professor After teaching law at t ...

of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

for the new seat and lost. Hermanson sought the leadership of the newly founded Saskatchewan Party in 1998, and defeated

Rod Gantefoer Rod Gantefoer (born May 15, 1947) is a Canadian provincial politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1995 to 2011, representing the constituencies of Melfort-Tisdale from 1995 to 2003 and Melfort from 2003 to ...

and

Yogi Huyghebaert Delwood Frederick Huyghebaert, O.M.M., C.D. (Lt Colonel-Ret) (May 27, 1944 – August 2, 2018) was a Canadian politician, who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 2000 to 2016, representing the riding of Wood Rive ...

in a

one member one vote In the parliamentary politics of the United Kingdom and Canada, one member, one vote (OMOV) is a method of selecting party leaders, and determining party policy, by a direct vote of the members of a political party. Traditionally, these objectives ...

election. He was elected to the provincial legislature for Rosetown-Biggar in the 1999 provincial election and became

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. The new party won a small plurality of the popular vote, but was almost nonexistent outside rural areas. It was completely shut out in Regina and won only one seat in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. Ultimately, this left the Saskatchewan Party five seats short of making Hermanson

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

. He did, however, reduce the

Saskatchewan New Democratic Party The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP) is a social-democratic political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It currently forms the official opposition, but has been a dominant force in Saskatchewan politics since the 1940s. Th ...

to a minority government. Hermanson was widely expected to lead the party to victory in 2003. However, he came up short again in the provincial election that November, in which the NDP actually won a bare majority. While the Saskatchewan Party scored a net gain of two seats, both in Saskatoon, it was shut out of Regina once again (though it came within a few hundred votes of taking a Regina seat). Believing he had taken the party as far as he could, Hermanson resigned days after the election and was subsequently succeeded by

Brad Wall Bradley John Wall (born November 24, 1965), is a Canadian former politician who served as the 14th premier of Saskatchewan from November 21, 2007 until February 2, 2018. He is the fourth longest-tenured premier in the province's history. His so ...

. Hermanson remained the MLA for the new constituency of Rosetown-Elrose. On Friday, June 23, 2006, Hermanson announced that he would not be seeking re-election to the legislature.

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* Canadian people of Swedish descent Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Saskatchewan Reform Party of Canada MPs Saskatchewan Party MLAs 1952 births Living people Saskatchewan political party leaders 21st-century Canadian politicians People from Swift Current {{Saskatchewan-politician-stub