Prairie populism takes new shape with Buffalo Party
SASKATOON The Buffalo Party launched its first campaign on a breezy October day on the edge of Warman, just 20 days before Saskatchewan people voted in the provincial election.
Interim leader Wade Sira introduced the basic platform of the party, which had been renamed by Wexit Saskatchewan Party members in July when Sira succeeded the previous interim leader, Jake Wall.
The sparsely attended campaign event barely suggested the winds of disruption the party would bring to Saskatchewan's electoral landscape without electing a single MLA.
“People want action,” Sira said in October. “People are frustrated.”
The Buffalo Party, still looking like a work in progress, captured the third most votes in the 2020 election — 11,298 — despite only fielding 17 candidates. The Green Party, which ran candidates in 60 constituencies, got 10,033 votes.
The party finished second in four races — Cannington, Cypress Hills, Estevan and Kindersley — pitching greater independence for Saskatchewan and a populist appeal. But Sira, a semi driver and driving instructor, got just 566 votes and finished a distant third in his Martensville-warman constituency.
The Buffalo Party, buoyed by its electoral success, has stayed active, with former candidates holding a rally at the legislature this month, urging an end to pandemic restrictions.
Jared Wesley, an associate professor of political science at the University of Alberta, sees parallels between what is happening in western Canadian politics and a worldwide populist movement.
The success of these movements comes down to support from people with a perceived loss of status, he said.
“We've seen this play out before. We've seen it play out in the manufacturing, the rust belt in the United States. We've seen it play out in coal country in the U.S., seen it play out in the industrial heartland in Britain, which manifested itself ultimately in Trumpism in the U.S. and Brexit in the U.K.”
Wesley, whose research focuses on politics in Western Canada, including separatist movements, sees parallels between Saskatchewan now and Alberta earlier this century.
Alberta's Wildrose Party rose with the support of disenchanted conservative voters and became a force on the political scene under leader Danielle Smith. Wildrose recently merged with the Progressive Conservatives (PCS) to form the United Conservative Party.
Wesley said conservative parties in the West strive to hold together all right-wing voters to avoid splitting the vote and allowing leftwing parties to gain power.
That's why leaders like Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney pay attention to splinter groups like the Buffalo Party, even though Moe rarely mentions the entity by name.
“And this is a big misconception, is that, you know, Moe and Kenney are worried about the New Democrats,” Wesley observed.
“They're not worried about the New Democrats whatsoever. They're worried about their own right flank.”
Having just won a convincing election victory with more than 60 per cent of the vote and 48 out of 61 seats, the Saskatchewan Party's popularity would not seem to rank as a major concern for Moe.
But Wesley noted the Saskatchewan Party has now become the establishment that it sought to replace when it was first formed 23 years ago as a merger of PCS and Liberals.
Supporters may have tired of the former upstart movement that has become a mainstream political party, he adds.
In a postelection cabinet shuffle, Moe named MLA Lyle Stewart as the legislative secretary to the premier responsible for provincial autonomy — a not-so-subtle appeal to Buffalo Party supporters.
The other component with the Buffalo Party is populism.
The party's platform includes a smattering of independence-minded initiatives like a provincial police force, a separate income tax system and the election of senators, the lieutenant-governor and judges.
That speaks to one aspect of populism, according to Wesley, which is anti-elite and aims to restore power and decision making to people.
But current brands of populism also harbour an element of anti-pluralism, he added, which means people are skeptical of and hostile toward diversity when they see others gaining power and influence.
Wesley noted the irony of anti-mask protests that run contrary to public opinion from a movement that claims to be populist.
Right-wing populism has always played a role in Alberta politics, but Saskatchewan has historically been influenced by left-wing populism, specifically four-term premier Tommy Douglas and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF).
Erika Dyck, a history professor at the University of Saskatchewan, sees a connection between the populism that is fuelling the rise of the Buffalo Party and the forces the CCF rode to power.
Dyck said despite different positions on the political spectrum, the feeling of alienation and frustration with the federal government has long historical roots, dating to the creation of Saskatchewan in 1905.
“There's always been a simmering frustration,” Dyck said in an interview.
“That, I think, is a lingering legacy of this tension: this relationship that we have with the federal government that, of course, can play out in a variety of ways.”
The Buffalo Party platform includes a section on greater control of natural resources.
This feeds into a long-standing issue in both Alberta and Saskatchewan, a “chip on our shoulders” over resource development, Dyck said.
This western alienation can transcend traditional left-right ideology, she suggested.
Wesley said the future of a movement like the Buffalo Party will depend on its strategy. A change in leader and a rebrand may be needed to make further electoral gains, and often this means selecting a more establishment figure to expand appeal.
“So in a way, as soon as these parties start to be taken seriously, then they lose their populist edge, right?” he added.
“And then the cycle begins again, where they become part of the establishment.”