The Saskatchewan Liberals are now known as … the Saskatchewan Progress Party?
The fact that the provincial Liberal party decided to change its name is not a surprise. You can thank the direction of the federal Liberals under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership for that development.
Nobody in Saskatchewan should want to be painted with the Trudeau brush at this time. If a candidate were to go door knocking in this province right now and introduce themselves as a Liberal candidate, that person might expect to be told off, have their sanity questioned or have the door slammed in their face, thanks to the low levels of popularity for the Liberals in Saskatchewan.
I'm not saying that's a proper way to respond to a candidate, just that it's likely to happen.
Trudeau's policies and their impact on the west have essentially eroded the last vestiges of popularity for the Liberal in Alberta, Saskatchewan and much of Manitoba and B.C.
But the Progress Party? The Liberals spent time and money on a name review, and that's the best they could come up with?
When you hear the name Liberal, it should be associated with centrist policies and ideals, even if our current prime minister has tried to push the federal Liberals to the left.
When you hear names like conservatives, greens or even the NDP, you are immediately able to associate something with them. You don't need somebody to tell you what they are.
Granted, the direction towards vague names is nothing new. Even this province's long-time governing party, the Saskatchewan Party, is ambiguous with their name. While they've become associated with conservative ideology, there's nothing in the name to indicate they are conservative, and it's important to remember the party was born out of an alliance between liberal and conservative MLAs. There are still some members of the Sask. Party caucus who would identify as liberals.
Names like the People's Party of Canada, the Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan United Party and now the Progress Party all opt for vagueness.
As for the Progress Party, it is a rather bizarre name choice. Does that mean the other parties don't stand for progress? Does that mean the only way to support progress is by voting for the party formerly known as the Liberals?
A definite no for the second question. And the other parties would tell you they stand for progress as well.
I believe that most people who enter politics do it with the attitude that they believe they are doing what is in the best interest of their jurisdiction. Yes, some of them wind up conducting themselves in a less-than-honourable manner, but that's a reflection of the realities of the job and succumbing to the temptations of elected office. Most don't go in with the intention of shady dealings or theft.
Most will tell you progress is their intention, and most enter politics to create a better community, province or country. Their definition of progress might be different than mine or yours. Their vision of a better province or country might be different than mine or yours, and the path they chart might be different than the one we would take, but that doesn't mean they don't have the end goal.
Ultimately, the new name for the Liberals won't change the end result, which is elected representation in the Saskatchewan legislature. They might get a few more candidates who are willing to step forward and run in the next provincial election. They might get a little more money from donors.
The party has been a diminishing return ever since Liberal and Progressive Conservative MLAs joined forces to create the Saskatchewan Party. And when Liberal MLAs propped up the NDP minority government after the 1999 election, it eroded much of the party's remaining support.
The Liberals had candidates in every riding in 2003 and 2007. They were shut out. They did all they could to get their leader of the day, Ryan Bader, elected in the Battlefords in 2011. They failed. They had more candidates in 2016 but were shut out, and they had a hearty three candidates in the 2020 provincial election.
It's unlikely we'll see a Progress Party MLA in the legislature anytime soon, unless someone leaves their party to join this entity with an ambiguous new name.
