Former Reform MP Elwin Hermanson has defeated two other candidates to become the first elected leader of the Saskatchewan Party.
Hermanson, who farms at Beechy, won on the second ballot of the mail-in leadership campaign. He earned 1,836 votes, compared to 1,508 for Melfort-Tisdale MLA Rod Gantefoer. The third candidate was former Snowbirds commander Yogi Huy-ghebaert.
The new leader of the infant party said he will concentrate on building membership in the province. The Saskatchewan Party was formed about eight months ago when four Liberal and four Tory MLAs joined forces. It is known primarily as a rural party, but Hermanson said he wants it to represent all people.
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“I am concerned that people in both rural and urban Saskatchewan understand that I’m not willing to play that old game where we pit one against the other,” he said. “We are not anti-urban.”
Rural roots
Hermanson said that doesn’t mean rural areas will be ignored while the party builds in urban centres.
“People know where I’m coming from,” he said. “They know I have the best interests of the agriculture industry and rural Saskatchewan at heart because that’s where I still live.”
Hermanson said it is important that the party has positions on issues like grain marketing and transportation and speaks out on those topics.
“With my background hopefully we’ll be able to do it even more forcefully than we have in the past.”
Hermanson said he is not planning to run in Saskatoon Eastview where the resignation of an NDP MLA has left a vacancy. Premier Roy Romanow has not yet called a byelection.
Canora-Pelly MLA Ken Krawetz will continue as opposition leader in the legislature.
