The Unionest Party was a provincial

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 ...

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 ...

, Canada, in the early 1980s, that advocated union between the four western provinces of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

) and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The party's name was a contraction of ‘best union’. The party was founded in March 1980 by

Dick Collver Richard Lee Collver (February 13, 1936 – August 7, 2014) led the Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative (PC) Party from 1973 to 1978. Born in Toronto, Collver earned an arts degree in economics from the University of Alberta, and articled as ...

, a former leader of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan is a conservative political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Prior to 1942, it was known as the Conservative Party of Saskatchewan. Members are commonly known as Tories. History ...

, who resigned from the PC caucus when he announced the formation of his new party. A few days later, another PC member of the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, in the na ...

(MLA), Dennis Ham, also left the PC

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

to join Collver. (Ham was the brother of

Lynda Haverstock Lynda Maureen Haverstock ( Ham; born September 16, 1948) is the former leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party, was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, and served as the 19th Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan from 2000 un ...

, who later became the leader of the

Saskatchewan Liberal Party The Saskatchewan Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was the provincial affiliate of the Liberal Party of Canada until 2009. It was previously one of the two largest parties in the provin ...

and later

Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan The lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan () is the Viceroy, viceregal representative in Saskatchewan of the , who Monarchy in Saskatchewan, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Canadian federalism, ten other ...

.) The Unionest Party was formed at a time when several western separatist parties (such as 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 ...

) were being formed and attracting considerable attention and support because of dissatisfaction with the federal

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

government. 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 ...

government of the day introduced and passed retroactive legislation intended to restrict

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a Veh ...

status to a party with at least two sitting members affiliated with a political party that was registered under the ''Election Act'' on the day of the last

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

References

{{Reflist Political parties established in 1980 Canada–United States relations Provincial political parties in Saskatchewan Defunct secessionist organizations in Canada Defunct political parties in Canada

See also

References