The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan and the Buffalo Party are in talks over a partnership for the October 28 election.Buffalo leader Phil Zajac said he was approached by PC president Alan Evans to conduct talks on a partnership. The CEO, CFO, and leader of each party met for 3.5 hours in Regina on August 17 and found common ground."We talked about a bunch of things, about politics, our philosophies," Zajac told the Western Standard in an interview.Zajac has had a long relationship with interim president Rick Swenson and some other members on the PC board, having been financial agent for three PC candidates in the 2016 election.Despite the familiarity, Zajac said talks could only go further because online consultation with members allowed it to do so."The members were given an opportunity to vote their opinions on moving forward with some type of negotiations with the PC party."Zajac said a majority were in favour but would not give exact percentages.The PCs were a major party in Saskatchewan until four PC MLAs and four Liberal MLAs left their respective parties to form the Saskatchewan Party in 1997. Since then the party has gained few votes and won no seats.The Buffalo Party ran in 17 constituencies in 2020. Despite having no candidates in 44 of 61 ridings, the party still won 2.6% of the province-wide popular vote. The party finished second to the Saskatchewan Party in Cypress Hills, Kindersley, Cannington, and Estevan where Zajac ran.In by-elections in 2023, the Saskatchewan United Party took second place in Lumsden-Morse. Zajac said the PCs and Buffalo Party are interested in consolidating options on a fractured right."There's a lot of talk in politics in Saskatchewan about why the conservative-minded parties can't get along. And the catchphrase word of the day is 'vote splitting,'" Zajac explained.Zajac said a formal merger would not be a possibility prior to the election, but a "coalition of cooperation" was in view. In the coming days, parties' leaders and executives will meet face-to-face to hammer out how the coalition might work. Zajac hopes the details will be agreed to by September 14."That leaves us basically six weeks out from the election, right? These meetings are going to be fairly critical and done quickly," Zajac said.PC Leader Rose Buscholl said the mid-September goal was reasonable despite the challenges."There's a lot of things and a lot of moving parts to this. And so, until all that is done, there is no former agreement as of yet, because it's still in the discussion phase," she told Western Standard.Buscholl said political skepticism is high in the province and hinders the parties from attracting candidates. She said joining the PC forces with the Buffalo Party made both parties' chances stronger."Both parties essentially would be running a full slate, because it'd be a coalition running under one banner," she said."Let's face it, people aren't going to vote for candidates that aren't going to form government. So if you don't have 61 seats, if you don't have some kind of coalitional place to do that, non-competition, then they're not going to vote for you."Zajac said it was a positive message to the province if previous political rivals could work together for the sake of everyone.“We realize that we have a common interest and common goals, and all we want to do is represent and serve the people of Saskatchewan. So let's work. Let's find a way to work together, put your egos aside and get it done,” Zajac said.
The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan and the Buffalo Party are in talks over a partnership for the October 28 election.Buffalo leader Phil Zajac said he was approached by PC president Alan Evans to conduct talks on a partnership. The CEO, CFO, and leader of each party met for 3.5 hours in Regina on August 17 and found common ground."We talked about a bunch of things, about politics, our philosophies," Zajac told the Western Standard in an interview.Zajac has had a long relationship with interim president Rick Swenson and some other members on the PC board, having been financial agent for three PC candidates in the 2016 election.Despite the familiarity, Zajac said talks could only go further because online consultation with members allowed it to do so."The members were given an opportunity to vote their opinions on moving forward with some type of negotiations with the PC party."Zajac said a majority were in favour but would not give exact percentages.The PCs were a major party in Saskatchewan until four PC MLAs and four Liberal MLAs left their respective parties to form the Saskatchewan Party in 1997. Since then the party has gained few votes and won no seats.The Buffalo Party ran in 17 constituencies in 2020. Despite having no candidates in 44 of 61 ridings, the party still won 2.6% of the province-wide popular vote. The party finished second to the Saskatchewan Party in Cypress Hills, Kindersley, Cannington, and Estevan where Zajac ran.In by-elections in 2023, the Saskatchewan United Party took second place in Lumsden-Morse. Zajac said the PCs and Buffalo Party are interested in consolidating options on a fractured right."There's a lot of talk in politics in Saskatchewan about why the conservative-minded parties can't get along. And the catchphrase word of the day is 'vote splitting,'" Zajac explained.Zajac said a formal merger would not be a possibility prior to the election, but a "coalition of cooperation" was in view. In the coming days, parties' leaders and executives will meet face-to-face to hammer out how the coalition might work. Zajac hopes the details will be agreed to by September 14."That leaves us basically six weeks out from the election, right? These meetings are going to be fairly critical and done quickly," Zajac said.PC Leader Rose Buscholl said the mid-September goal was reasonable despite the challenges."There's a lot of things and a lot of moving parts to this. And so, until all that is done, there is no former agreement as of yet, because it's still in the discussion phase," she told Western Standard.Buscholl said political skepticism is high in the province and hinders the parties from attracting candidates. She said joining the PC forces with the Buffalo Party made both parties' chances stronger."Both parties essentially would be running a full slate, because it'd be a coalition running under one banner," she said."Let's face it, people aren't going to vote for candidates that aren't going to form government. So if you don't have 61 seats, if you don't have some kind of coalitional place to do that, non-competition, then they're not going to vote for you."Zajac said it was a positive message to the province if previous political rivals could work together for the sake of everyone.“We realize that we have a common interest and common goals, and all we want to do is represent and serve the people of Saskatchewan. So let's work. Let's find a way to work together, put your egos aside and get it done,” Zajac said.
