User:Mr Serjeant Buzfuz/Electoral history of Lorne Calvert

Lorne Calvert
Thirteenth Premier of Saskatchewan
2001 to 2007

This article is the Electoral history of Lorne Calvert, the thirteenth Premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. He served one term, from 2001 to 2007.

Calvert succeeded Roy Romanow as Premier in 2001, upon Romanow's retirement from provincial politics. Calvert led the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP) in two general elections, in 2003 and 2007. He won a majority government in 2003, but was defeated in 2007 by Brad Wall and the Saskatchewan Party, and resigned as Premier. He was the third of three NDP premiers to date.

Calvert stood for election to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan six times, in the general elections of 1986, 1991, 1995, 2003 and 2007. He stood for election in one by-election, in 2001. He was elected every time.

Calvert sought the leadership of the NDP in 2001, following Romanow's announcement that he was retiring from provincial politics. He won the leadership on the fourth round of voting, in a leadership election where all members of the NDP were eligible to vote using an instant run-off ballot.

Following his defeat in the 2007 general election, Calvert acted as Leader of the Opposition from 2007 to 2009. In 2009, he retired from provincial politics and resigned his seat in the Assembly. He was succeeded as NDP leader by Dwain Lingenfelter.

Summary

Calvert was the ninth-longest serving Premier of the fifteen Premiers of Saskatchewan. He was in office from February 8, 2001 to November 21, 2007, for a total of 6 years, 286 days.

Calvert became Premier by succeeding outgoing Premier Roy Romanow, on February 8, 2001. He then led the New Democratic Party in two provincial general elections: 2003 and 2007. He won a narrow majority government in his first election as leader, in 2003, retaining the position of Premier. However, in the next general election Calvert and the NDP were defeated by the Saskatchewan Party, led by Brad Wall. Calvert resigned as Premier and was succeeded by Wall.

Prior to becoming Premier, Calvert was a member of the Cabinet in the government of Roy Romanow, serving as Associate Minister of Health (1991 to 1995), Minister of Health (1995) and Minister of Social Services and Seniors (1995 to 1998). He then took a break from provincial politics for two years, before returning to politics to seek the NDP Leadership.

Calvert began his political career in 1986, when he was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the constituency of Moose Jaw South (later re-named Moose Jaw Wakamow). It was the first of six elections in two different constituencies, winning each time. He won his seat in Moose Jaw South in the general elections of 1986, 1991 and 1995. He did not stand for election in the general election of 1999, but returned to provincial politics in 2001 when he won the NDP leadership. Outgoing Premier Romanow then resigned his seat in Saskatoon Riversdale, triggering a by-election. Calvert successfully contested the by-election and was elected. He won the seat again in the general elections of 2003 and 2007.

Following his defeat in the 2007 election, Calvert stayed on as leader of the NDP and Leader of the Opposition for two years, until his retirement from politics in 2009.. He was succeeded as leader of the NDP by Dwain Lingenfelter.

Saskatchewan general elections, 2003 and 2007

Calvert led the NDP in two general elections: 2003 and 2007. He won the 2003 election with a narrow majority government, but was defeated by the Saskatchewan Party led by Brad Wall in the 2007 election.

2003 General election

For more detailed tables of election results, see 2003 Saskatchewan general election.

For information about the 25th Legislature, 2003 to 2007, see 25th Saskatchewan Legislature.

For information about political events during the 25th Legislature, see Lorne Calvert § Premier of Saskatchewan.

In his first election as leader of the NDP, Calvert won a very narrow majority in the Legislative Assembly and a plurality of the provincial vote, improving the NDP's position from the previous minority government following the 1999 election. He defeated the Saskatchewan Party, led by Elwin Hermanson, who then retired as leader of the Saskatchewan Party.

Saskatchewan General Election: November 5, 2003

Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote	Popular Vote Percentage
	New Democratic Party	Lorne Calvert1	30	190,923	44.7%
	Saskatchewan Party	Elwin Hermanson2	28	168,144	39.4%
	Liberal	David Karwacki	0	60,601	14.2%
	Western Independence	Bruce Ritter	0	2,615	0.6%
	New Green	Ben Webster	0	2,323	0.5%
	Independent	–	0	1,997	0.5%
	Progressive Conservative	Iris Dennis	0	681	0.2%
Total			58	427,284	100.1%3
Source: Elections Saskatchewan - Elections Results - 2003

¹ Premier when election was called; Premier after election.
² Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
³ Rounding error.

2007 General election

For more detailed tables of election results, see 2007 Saskatchewan general election.

For information about the 26th Legislature, 2007 to 2011, see 26th Saskatchewan Legislature.

For information about political events during the 26th Legislature, see Lorne Calvert § Premier of Saskatchewan.

In his second election as leader of the NDP, Calvert was defeated by the Saskatchewan Party, under a new leader, Brad Wall. Calvert resigned as Premier but stayed on as leader of the NDP and Leader of the Opposition for two years, retiring in 2009.

Saskatchewan General Election: November 7, 2007

Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote	Popular Vote Percentage
	Saskatchewan Party	Brad Wall1	38	230,671	50.9%
	New Democratic Party	Lorne Calvert2	20	168,704	37.2%
	Liberal	David Karwacki	0	42,585	9.4%
	Green	Sandra Finley	0	9,128	2.0%
	Progressive Conservative	Rick Swenson	0	832	0.2%
	Western Independence	John Nesdoly	0	572	0.1%
	Saskatchewan Marijuana Party	Nathan Holowaty	0	517	0.1%
Total			58	453,009	99.9%3
Source: Elections Saskatchewan - Elections Results - 2007

¹ Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Premier after election.
² Premier when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
³ Rounding error.

Saskatchewan constituency elections, 1986 to 1995, 2001 to 2007

Calvert stood for election to the Legislative Assembly six times: three times in the riding of Moose Jaw South (re-named Moose Jaw Wakamow prior to the 2005 election), and three times in Saskatoon Riversdale. He was elected in all six elections.

1986 General election: Moose Jaw South

General Election, October 20, 1986: Moose Jaw South

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	Lorne Calvert	4,959	58.5%
	Progressive Conservative	X Arthur Leslie "Bud" Smith	2,823	33.3%
	Liberal	Irene McKenzie	653	7.7%
	Western Canada Concept	Phoebe Dowhy	49	0.6%
Total			8,484	100.1%1
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Moose Jaw South

Elected.
X Incumbent.
¹ Rounding error.

1991 General election: Moose Jaw Wakamow

General Election, October 21, 1991: Moose Jaw Wakamow

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	X Lorne Calvert	6,083	67.2%
	Liberal	Randy Roman	1,799	19.9%
	Progressive Conservative	Lisa Acton	1,164	12.9%
Total			9,046	100.0%
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Moose Jaw Wakamow

Elected.
X Incumbent.

1995 General election: Moose Jaw Wakamow

General Election, June 21, 1995: Moose Jaw Wakamow

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	X Lorne Calvert	3,803	63.0%
	Liberal	Jim Carr	1,577	26.1%
	Progressive Conservative	Norma Donovan	661	10.9%
Total			6,041	100.0%
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Moose Jaw Wakamow

Elected.
X Incumbent.

2001 By-election: Saskatoon Riversdale

By-Election, March 19, 2001: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	Lorne Calvert	2,583	56.2%
	Saskatchewan Party	Ted Merriman	1,547	33.7%
	Liberal	Dwayne Roth	309	6.7%
	First Nations Party	John Melenchuk	115	2.5%
	New Green Alliance	Neil Sinclair	39	0.8%
Total			4,593	99.9%1
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
¹ Rounding error.

2003 General election: Saskatoon Riversdale

General election, November 5, 2003: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	X Lorne Calvert	3,608	62.7%
	Saskatchewan Party	Fred Ozirney	1,302	22.6%
	Liberal	Deneen Gudjonson	754	13.1%
	New Green Alliance	Keith Morvick	52	0.9%
	Progressive Conservative	Glen Schriener	37	0.6%
Total			5,753	99.9%1
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
X Incumbent.
¹ Rounding error.

2007 General election: Saskatoon Riversdale

General election, November 7, 2007: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	X Lorne Calvert	3,560	56.1%
	Saskatchewan Party	Fred Ozirney	2,058	32.5%
	Liberal	Roman Todos	511	8.1%
	Green	Jan Norris	123	1.9%
	Marijuana Party	Michael Kereiff	90	1.4%
Total			6,342	100.0
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
X Incumbent.

2001 NDP leadership election

Premier Romanow announced his retirement in 2000. The NDP held a leadership election on January 27, 2001. The election was run with a one member, one vote system, open to all party members, coupled with an instant run-off ballot. A candidate had to receive 50% + 1 to win. The last-ranked candidate in each round of voting was eliminated, as were any candidates who failed to gain at least 5% of the vote. Party members could mail their ballots in, or vote in person at the party leadership convention.

Four rounds of vote-counting were needed. Calvert led in each vote-count, and won the leadership on the fourth vote count.

NDP Leadership Convention, January 27, 2001

Candidate		First Vote Count		Second Vote Count		Third Vote Count		Fourth Vote Count
		Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%
	Lorne Calvert	6,542	33.6%	6,877	35.6%	7,831	41.8%	10,289	57.6%
	Chris Axworthy	5,344	27.5%	5,646	29.3%	6,686	35.7%	7,575	42.4%
	Nettie Wiebe	3,487	17.9%	3,749	19.4%	4,216	22.5%3	–	–
	Maynard Sonntag	1,459	7.5%	1,712	8.9%2	–	–	–	–
	Scott Banda	1,269	6.5%	1,309	6.8%3	–	–	–	–
	Joanne Crofford	699	3.6%1	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Buckley Belanger	665	3.4%1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total		19,465	100.0%	19,293	100.0%	18,733	100.0	17,864	100.0

¹ Eliminated (under 5%).
² Withdrew.
³ Eliminated (last place).

External links

• Elections Saskatchewan - Election Results

• Saskatchewan Archives: Saskatchewan Executive and Legislative Directory