REGINA – Saskatchewan’s Progressive Conservatives have chosen a farmer to lead them into the next provincial election.
Bill Boyd, MLA and farmer from Eston, gained a clear victory over the only other leadership candidate, Grant Schmidt. The results of the telephone vote, the first such vote in Saskatchewan history, gave Boyd 1,985 votes to Schmidt’s 1,313.
Schmidt, a former member of the legislature and cabinet minister in Grant Devine’s government that was in power from 1982 to 1992, said his time in the Devine government might have hurt his chances. “It would have been nice to have a new face on me,” the Melville lawyer said. “But people voted for newness over experience.”
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Boyd described himself in his victory speech as a “farm boy who came up through the ranks.”
He said afterwards being a farmer will help the party in the next provincial election. “I think it improves our chances dramatically in a number of rural constituencies by having someone who has a knowledge of agriculture.”
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Boyd immediately launched an attack on Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow’s agriculture policy record and asked “what are you doing for the future of Saskatchewan? What about the issues that are on the table now: the new safety net, the (transportation subsidy) method-of-payment, marketing choices?”
He said he had not looked at the new safety net package announced Friday, but “my preliminary understanding is we have a real problem with it.”
Boyd is a supporter of a dual marketing system for wheat, and said his party will pressure the federal Liberal government to hold a referendum so producers can decide the future of grain marketing in Canada.
Having a farmer at the helm of the Tory ship will show rural voters that agriculture is a high priority for the party, he said.
Conservative party president Dwight Dunn said he thinks being a farmer will not hurt Boyd’s chances to pick up city votes. “Most people who get into politics are lawyers and lawyers don’t enjoy the highest stature in society,” he said. “I don’t think (the prevalence of lawyers) prevents people from different walks of life from being leaders.”
