2010s was undoubtedly decade of Sask. Party

How dominant was the Saskatchewan Party during the past decade? Well, it should be measured in historical terms.

The decade that ends at the stroke of midnight (yes, some of you will insist this decade doesn’t officially end until Dec. 31, 2020) is the first decade in Saskatchewan politics since the 1930s that wasn’t somewhat influenced by Co-operative Commonwealth Federation/new Democratic Party governance.

It’s also the first time since the CCF in the 1950s that a single party has ruled for the entirety of a decade — a feat that’s been accomplished only three times in Saskatchewan political history.

And if the Sask. Party wins the next general election scheduled for Oct. 26, 2020 (something most are anticipating), it would make for a 17-year run that would be the longest since the Tommy Douglas/woodrow Lloyd CCF initial run from 1944 to 1964. That would translate into governing for 17 of its 27 years of existence since its formation in 1997 — a record similar to the CCF’S initial run of governing for 20 of its first 31 years of existence.

Of course, it’s only been a 12-year-plus run at this point — impressive, but nothing all that historically significant when you consider the preceding 16-year run of the Roy Romanow/lorne Calvert NDP from 1991 until 2007.

Well, that would be incorrect. The numbers show the Brad Wall/scott Moe government has already accomplished unprecedented things.

For example, during the NDP’S 16-year run that began with its massive 55-seat win in 1991 to oust the Progressive Conservatives, it won 156 of 240 Saskatchewan seats contested in the four general elections it won. That’s an impressive 65 per cent of all ridings in that era. However, the Sask. Party has won 138 seats of 177 contested in the last three general elections — a whopping 78 per cent of all ridings.

The NDP did have decisive wins in 1991 and even 1995, but it was returned to power with a coalition minority in 1999 and a razor-thin twoseat majority in 2003. This tends to be the pattern in which support for long-term government significantly weakens in certain areas. That didn’t happen to the Sask. Party during the past decade.

While often characterized as a rural-based party, the 2016 election — its third consecutive win — saw the Sask. Party increase its urban base to 21 seats from 20 seats in 2011. It also again won every rural seat in 2016.

In the 2010s, the Sask. Party built on its initial 2007 win, in which it received 50.9 per cent of the popular vote. Its popular vote totals of 64.3 per cent in 2011 and 62.3 per cent in 2016 were the two highest general election totals in provincial history.

The Sask. Party not only dominated the past decade in a historic way, but also established itself as the province’s natural governing party.

But that takes us to a couple questions: How much longer can it maintain this dominance? And what does the Sask. Party government have to do in order to accomplish that?

There seems little reason to doubt that the Sask. Party will again win in October, but there are signs since that 2016 election that support for this government has weakened.

After its austerity 2017 budget, the opinion polls indicated the NDP were pulling even (although that issue has been rectified since Moe’s selection as leader almost two years ago).

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the two major cities, where the

Sask. Party has lost all three by-elections and is now playing fast and loose with the intent of the byelection law to avoid two more Regina by-elections it’s likely to lose.

Sure, the Sask. Party handily won all three rural by-elections this term, but it seems crystal clear that Premier Scott Moe has to demonstrate to urban Saskatchewan that it’s more than a rural party against the federal carbon tax and Justin Trudeau’s federal Liberal government.

Moe must demonstrate a more encompassing government vision that shows the Sask. Party is capable of addressing wants and needs in urban Saskatchewan, where the province is growing.

It’s a daunting challenge that may mean the Sask. Party adjusting from the way it has governed — governance that so dominated the 2010s. Mandryk is the Leader-post’s political columnist.