“I think this certainly throws a wrinkle into it for the Sask. Party,” says University of Regina politics and international studies professor Tom McIntosh.
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As the provincial election looms, the Saskatchewan United Party (SUP) has added two former Saskatchewan Party MLAs to its roster of candidates.
Greg Brkich and Denis Allchurch are running for the SUP in the Saskatoon Southeast and Meadow Lake constituencies. Both men were elected as members of the Saskatchewan Party in 1999 and have both served in government and Opposition.
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The SUP has eschewed political labels, but some of their members would be considered libertarian or federal Conservative supporters. The party formed during the COVID-19 pandemic with Nadine Wilson serving as the party’s sole MLA and leader.
From 1999 until 2020, Brkich represented what is now Arm River-Watrous. During his tenure as MLA for the riding, known as Arm River before boundary changes, he served as government house leader.
Following allegations made by speaker of the house Randy Weekes earlier this year, Brkich called into the Evan Bray Show, a provincial talk radio program, to express his displeasure with how Premier Scott Moe handled the matter.
“I’m very disappointed in the premier in the way he is acting. He’s certainly no Brad Wall and that’s why I decided not to run again,” he said on the radio show on May 17.
In his announcement on Monday, Brkich said he “decided to run under the Sask United Party because he sees so much potential for our province, but it is being mismanaged by the current leadership in government.”
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During his farewell speech in 2020, Brkich used the words “all lives matter,” which prompted Moe to say those comments should not have been made in the house. Brkich said in his recent radio appearance that the premier “didn’t even call me to say, ‘Hey buddy, I threw you under the bus.’ ”
Allchurch represented the Rosthern-Shellbrook constituency from 1999 to 2011. He lost his nomination to future premier Scott Moe, who was a political newcomer at the time.
“Denis allowed his name to stand for the Sask United Party because of the corruption and mismanagement in the current Sask Party government,” stated the announcement of his candidacy.
University of Regina professor of politics and international studies Tom McIntosh said he found the additions of Allchurch and Brkich to the SUP roster to be “curious.”
“I think this certainly throws a wrinkle into it for the Sask. Party,” said McIntosh. He said it remains to be seen if the two former MLAs have enough caché to peel votes off the Saskatchewan Party. In particular, McIntosh said this development could give credence to Moe’s post-election and byelection appeals to prevent vote-splitting.
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McIntosh noted the Sask. Party has changed directions over the years.
“The sort of liberal stalwarts of the party have born left,” said McIntosh. “This is a party that is much more on the populist right, much more on the socially conservative right than Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party.”
As for the personal dynamics at play between the candidates and the premier, McIntosh said he wouldn’t discount that entirely.
“It’s not uncommon or unheard of in politics, where people nurse grudges,” McIntosh said.
This also marks a step forward for the SUP in McIntosh’s view, as the two former MLAs add “heft” to the overall position of the party, he said.
University of Saskatchewan political-science professor Daniel Westlake agreed that while the two men have been out of politics for some time, they do offer the party experience and potentially a pair of effective campaigners.
Given the history of the two men, Westlake said it’s not surprising that MLAs that had “difficult relationships with the party” moved on to another political party.
“You’d expect them to kind of bring over some people who are on the right at the Sask. Party,” he said of the SUP.
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