Saskatchewan United Party

Conservative organizers—including Independent and former Saskatchewan Party MLA Nadine Wilson, former Conservative Member of Parliament and federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz, and former Maverick Party candidate Ken Rutherford—began holding meetings in early 2022 to try and establish another conservative political option for Saskatchewan.[4] Wilson had become a vocal critic of the governing Saskatchewan Party's management of the COVID-19 pandemic, and resigned from the Saskatchewan Party caucus in September 2021 with the party revealing that she had lied about her COVID-19 vaccination status.[5][6] An opposition to pandemic-related public health measures was at the centre of Wilson and Ritz's efforts in early 2022, and they worked alongside members of the anti-mandate group Unified Grassroots.[7]

The Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative Party has alleged that these organizers attempted a "takeover" of the PC party with a plan to rebrand as the Saskatchewan Conservative Party with Wilson as its leader.[8] In addition to the Conservative brand, such a move would have provided access to a $2.7 million trust fund.[9] However, the takeover was rejected, and attention turned to establishing a new party. In 2023, the PCs alleged that Sask. United organizers stole a hard drive containing member and donor information, a charge those organizers denied.[9][10]

The Saskatchewan United Party (SUP) was registered with Elections Saskatchewan on November 30, 2022, with Nadine Wilson appointed party leader and becoming its first member in the Legislature.[11]

In social media posts, the newly-formed party promoted stances against mass immigration, COVID-19 lockdowns, and vaccine mandates.[7] Saskatoon StarPhoenix columnist Phil Tank classified the party's stance against mass immigration as being in line with other right-wing populist movements, and noted Wilson's previous involvement in the anti-mandate group Unified Grassroots.[7]

On Wilson's first day in the Legislature as SUP leader, she invited guests who purported to have suffered "vaccine injuries" and urged the government to meet with them.[12]

The party hosted an official launch event on February 28, 2023 in Saskatoon, where it introduced its logo and policy agenda.[13] The party's positions include promoting the agriculture, energy, and natural resource industries; promoting provincial sovereignty against federal and foreign powers; promoting gun rights; promoting "efficiency and opportunity" and less bureaucracy in health care; removing "ideologies" from school curricula; and increasing parental involvement in education.[13][14][15]

The party ran a candidate for the first time in the August 2023 Lumsden-Morse by-election; SUP candidate Jon Hromek finished second to the Saskatchewan Party's Blaine McLeod with 23% of the vote.[16] Wilson, who stated that she was "very pleased" with the result, attributed it to the party advocating for more parental involvement in the education system.[17]

When, later in August 2023, the Saskatchewan Party introduced new education policies limiting sexual education and requiring parental consent when students under the age of 16 desired to have their chosen names and pronouns affirmed at school, pressure from SUP was widely cited as the impetus.[18][19][20] Wilson voted in favour of the legislation and SUP took credit for forcing the government to adopt the policy in social media posts.[21][22]