User:Mr Serjeant Buzfuz/Electoral history of Roy Romanow

Roy Romanow
Twelfth Premier of Saskatchewan
1991 to 2001

This article is the Electoral history of Roy Romanow, the twelfth Premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. He served from 1991 to 2001.

Romanow led the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP) in three general elections, in 1991, 1995, and 1999. He won majority governments in 1991 and 1995, and a minority government in 1999. He was the second of three NDP premiers to date.

Romanow stood for election to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan nine times, in the general elections of 1967, 1971, 1975, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1991, 1995 and 1999. He was elected eight times and defeated once, in the 1982 general election.

Romanow sought the leadership of the NDP twice, in 1970 and 1987. In the 1970 leadership convention, he was defeated by Allan Blakeney, coming in second. He was elected by acclamation at the 1987 convention.

Romanow retired from provincial politics in 2001, and was succeeded as leader of the NDP and Premier of Saskatchewan by Lorne Calvert.

Summary

Romanow was the sixth-longest serving Premier of the fifteen Premiers of Saskatchewan. He was in office from November 1, 1991 to February 8, 2001, for a total of 9 years, 99 days.

Romanow led the New Democratic Party in three provincial general elections: 1991, 1995, and 1999. He won a majority government in his first election as leader, in 1991, defeating Premier Grant Devine, leader of the Progressive Conservatives. Devine resigned as Premier and was succeeded by Romanow. As Premier, Romanow won a majority government in the next election, in 1995, but in 1999 was returned with a minority. Romanow formed a coalition government with the Liberal members of the Legislative Assembly. In 2000, he announced his retirement from politics. He resigned as leader of the NDP and as Premier in 2001, and was succeeded by Lorne Calvert. Romanow also resigned his seat in Saskatoon Riversdale, which Calvert subsequently won in the resulting by-election.

Romanow was a member of the Cabinet in the government of Allan Blakeney, serving as Attorney General for Saskatchewan from 1971 to 1982, as well as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs from 1979 to 1982.

Romanow's political career began in 1967, when he was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the constituency of Saskatoon Riversdale. It was the first of nine elections, in which Romanow was elected eight times, with vote tallies ranging from 57.9% to 70.9%. He was defeated only once, in the 1982 general election, when the NDP government was defeated. Romanow was defeated in his own constituency, in an extremely close election: he fell only nineteen votes behind the PC candidate, Jo-Ann Zazelenchuk. The NDP challenged the results under the provincial Controverted Elections Act, but the courts upheld the election result. Romanow thought that his political career might be over, but successfully ran again in the next election, at the urgings of his colleagues. Successful in the 1986 general election, he won the seat three more times.

Overall, Romanow was a member of the Legislative Assembly for over thirty years, the longest of any premier of Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan general elections, 1991 to 1999

Romanow led the NDP in three general elections: 1991, 1995, and 1999. He won the first two elections with majority governments, but was returned with a minority government in 1999.

1991 General election

For more detailed tables of election results, see 1991 Saskatchewan general election.

For information about the 22nd Legislature, 1991 to 1995, see 22nd Saskatchewan Legislature.

For information about political events during the 22nd Legislature, see Roy Romanow § Premier of Saskatchewan.

In his first election as leader of the NDP, Romanow won a major victory. He and the NDP won fifty-five seats in the sixty-six seat Legislative Assembly. Premier Grant Devine and the PCs were badly defeated, winning only ten seats. Devine resigned as Premier and Romanow became Premier. The Saskatchewan Liberal Party won one seat, namely their leader Lynda Haverstock.

Saskatchewan General Election: October 21, 1991

Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote	Popular Vote Percentage
	New Democratic Party	Roy Romanow1	55	275,780	51.0%
	Progressive Conservative	Grant Devine2	10	137,994	25.5%
	Liberal	Lynda Haverstock	1	125,814	23.3%
	Independent	–	0	592	0.1%
	Independence/Western Canada Concept	–	0	46	0.0%3
Total			66	540,226	99.9%4
Source: Elections Saskatchewan - Elections Results - 1991

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 Rounds to zero.
⁴ Rounding error.

1995 General election

For more detailed tables of election results, see 1995 Saskatchewan general election.

For information about the 23rd Legislature, 1995 to 1999, see 23rd Saskatchewan Legislature.

For information about political events during the 23rd Legislature, see Roy Romanow § Premier of Saskatchewan.

In his second election as leader of the NDP, Romanow was re-elected with a majority government, although with a reduced number of seats. The Liberals under Lynda Haverstock won eleven seats, while the PCs, led by Bill Boyd, were reduced to five seats.

Saskatchewan General Election: June 21, 1995

Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote	Popular Vote Percentage
	New Democratic Party	Roy Romanow1	42	193,053	47.2%
	Liberal	Lynda Haverstock2	11	141,873	34.7%
	Progressive Conservative	Bill Boyd3	5	73,269	17.9%
	Independent	–	0	712	0.2%
Total			58	408,907	100.0%
Source: Elections Saskatchewan - Elections Results - 1995

¹ Premier when election was called; Premier after election.
² Leader of third party when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
³ Leader of the Opposition when election was called; leader of third party after the election.

1999 General election

For more detailed tables of election results, see 1999 Saskatchewan general election.

For information about the 24th Legislature, 1999 to 2003, see 24th Saskatchewan Legislature.

For information about political events during the 24th Legislature, see Roy Romanow § Premier of Saskatchewan.

In his third election as leader of the NDP, Romanow was reduced to a minority government with twenty-nine members, one short of a majority. The new Saskatchewan Party under Elwin Hermanson came in second, with twenty-five seats, while the Liberals under Jim Melenchuk were reduced to four seats. The NDP came in second in the total popular vote, with the Saskatchewan Party having the plurality. Romanow formed a coalition government with the Liberals.

Saskatchewan General Election: September 16, 1999

Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote	Popular Vote Percentage
	New Democratic Party	Roy Romanow1	29	157,046	38.7%
	Saskatchewan Party	Elwin Hermanson2	25	160,603	39.6%
	Liberal	Jim Melenchuk	4	81,694	20.1%
	New Green Alliance	Neil Sinclair	0	4,101	1.0%
	Progressive Conservative	Iris Dennis	0	1,609	0.4%
	Independent	–	0	422	0.1%
Total			58	405,475	99.9%3
Source: Elections Saskatchewan - Elections Results - 1999

¹ Premier when election was called; Premier after election.
² Did not have a seat in the Legislative Assembly when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
³ Rounding error.

Saskatchewan constituency elections, 1967 to 1999

Romanow stood for election to the Legislative Assembly nine times, all in the riding of Saskatoon Riversdale. He was elected eight times and defeated once, in the general election of 1982. Overall, he held the seat for over thirty years.

1967 General election: Saskatoon Riversdale

General Election, October 11, 1967: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	Roy Romanow	4,888	58.4%
	Liberal	Margaret Gent	2,327	27.8%
	Progressive Conservative	Emanuel Sonnenschein	1,160	13.9%
Total			8,375	100.1%1
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
¹ Rounding error.

1971 General election: Saskatoon Riversdale

General Election, June 23, 1971: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	X Roy Romanow	4,888	64.0%
	Liberal	James F. Weber	2,751	36.0%
Total			7,639	100.0%
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
X Incumbent.

1975 General election: Saskatoon Riversdale

General Election, June 11, 1975: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	X Roy Romanow	4,172	62.4%
	Progressive Conservative	Gary Barnes	1,551	23.2%
	Liberal	William Stadnyk	961	14.4%
Total			6,684	100.0%
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
X Incumbent.

1978 General election: Saskatoon Riversdale

General Election, October 18, 1978: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	X Roy Romanow	5,225	64.7%
	Progressive Conservative	Mary Cherneskey	2,205	27.3%
	Liberal	Nestor W. Romaniuk	640	7.9%
Total			8,070	99.9%1
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
X Incumbent.
¹ Rounding error.

1982 General election: Saskatoon Riversdale

General Election, April 26, 1982: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Progressive Conservative	Jo-Ann Zazelenchuk	3,576	47.3%
	New Democratic Party	X Roy Romanow	3,557	47.0%
	Liberal	Harold Flett	228	3.0%
	Aboriginal People's Party	Joe Gallagher	143	1.9%
	Independent	Alexander V. Barker	57	0.8%
Total			7,561	100.0%
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
X Incumbent.

1986 General election: Saskatoon Riversdale

General Election, October 20, 1986: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	Roy Romanow	5,490	68.5%
	Progressive Conservative	X Jo-Ann Zazelenchuk	2,114	26.4%
	Liberal	Bernardine Droesse	408	5.1%
Total			8,012	100.0%
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
X Incumbent.

1991 General election: Saskatoon Riversdale

General Election, October 21, 1991: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	X Roy Romanow	5,254	70.9%
	Liberal	Gary La Plante	1,398	18.9%
	Progressive Conservative	Gay Caswell	761	10.3%
Total			7,413	100.1%1
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
X Incumbent.
¹ Rounding error.

1995 General election: Saskatoon Riversdale

General Election, June 21, 1995: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	X Roy Romanow	3,715	68.2%
	Liberal	Fred Langford	1,242	22.8%
	Progressive Conservative	Jordon Cooper	412	7.6%
	Independent	Eugene Pasap	80	1.5%
Total			5,449	100.1%1
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
X Incumbent.
¹ Rounding error.

1999 General election: Saskatoon Riversdale

General Election, September 16, 1999: Saskatoon Riversdale

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	New Democratic Party	X Roy Romanow	3,130	57.9%
	Saskatchewan Party	Mark Coderre	1,060	19.6%
	Liberal	David Pillipow	923	17.1%
	New Green Alliance	Neil Sinclair	167	3.1%
	Progressive Conservative	Glenn Schriener	127	2.3%
Total			5,407	100.0%
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division - Saskatoon Riversdale

Elected.
X Incumbent.

NDP Leadership elections

Romanow stood for election as leader of the NDP twice, in 1970 and in 1987. He was defeated by Allan Blakeney in 1970, but was acclaimed in 1987.

1970 Leadership election

When Woodrow Lloyd retired as leader, the NDP held a leadership convention in 1970. Romanow led on the first two ballots, but was defeated by Allan Blakeney on the third ballot.

NDP Leadership Convention, July 4, 1970
Voting results by ballot

Candidate		First Ballot		Second Ballot		Third Ballot
		Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%
	Allan Blakeney	286	33.6%	311	36.6%	407	53.8%
	Roy Romanow	300	35.3%	320	37.6%	349	46.2%
	Don Mitchell	187	22.0%	219	25.8%	–	–
	George Taylor	78	9.2%	–	–	–	–
Total		851	100.1%1	850	100.0%	756	100.0

¹ Rounding error.

1987 Leadership election

The NDP held a leadership election on November 7, 1987, following the retirement of Allan Blakeney. Romanow was the only candidate for the leadership and was acclaimed.

External links

• Elections Saskatchewan - Election Results

• Saskatchewan Archives: Saskatchewan Executive and Legislative Directory