29 Facts About Roy Romanow

Roy Romanow was the leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party from 1987 until his retirement in 2001.

Roy Romanow was the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Saskatoon Riversdale from 1967 to 1982 and from 1986 to 2001.

Roy Romanow became the Leader of the Opposition in 1987 before leading the NDP to three consecutive election victories in the 1990s.

When Roy Romanow first took office, Saskatchewan was facing the prospect of bankruptcy.

Roy Romanow then practiced law, articling with and joining Goldenburg, Taylor and Company in Saskatoon.

Roy Romanow was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a member of the CCF-NDP in the 1967 provincial election in the riding of Saskatoon Riversdale; the election was won by Ross Thatcher's Liberals.

When Woodrow Lloyd resigned as party leader in 1970, the young Roy Romanow entered the leadership election to succeed him as leader of the NDP.

Roy Romanow was considered the most conservative of four candidates as he was joined by Allan Blakeney, a veteran civil servant and MLA in the governments of Lloyd and Tommy Douglas; Don Mitchell, an agrarian activist who represented the socialist Waffle faction of the party; and George Taylor, a labour candidate.

Roy Romanow was re-elected in the 1971 provincial election, which resulted in a majority government for Blakeney and the NDP.

Roy Romanow objected strongly to any protections on private property in the new Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and none were included.

Roy Romanow himself was upset in Saskatoon Centre, losing to 23-year-old PC candidate Jo-Ann Zazelenchuk by 19 votes.

The situation came to a head in 1989 when the government moved to privatize SaskEnergy, the natural gas division of SaskPower; in response, Roy Romanow led a legislative walk-out of the Opposition, effectively bringing government business to a halt.

When it finally occurred, Roy Romanow led the NDP to a landslide majority government in the 1991 provincial election, winning 55 out of 66 seats, making Roy Romanow Premier.

When Roy Romanow assumed office in 1991, the extent of the fiscal crisis facing the province began to become clearer.

Roy Romanow had campaigned on getting the province's fiscal house back in order, and dealing with the fiscal crisis became his government's top priority.

Roy Romanow led the NDP to a second majority in the 1995 provincial election.

Roy Romanow framed the new party as an effort to rebrand the moribund Progressive Conservatives and took to referring to them as the "Saskatories".

The party was re-elected to a third consecutive term, but was in fact reduced to a minority of seats in the legislature, forcing Roy Romanow to negotiate a coalition government with the Liberals, an agreement that resulted in appointing three Liberals to Cabinet.

In 2000, less than a year after the election, Roy Romanow announced that he would be retiring as soon as a successor was chosen by the party.

Roy Romanow stated that to do so would be a betrayal of the NDP, and he bargained instead for the opportunity to lead a Royal commission on the future of health care.

Romanow ultimately got his wish, and on April 4 2001, Romanow was appointed to head the Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, on the advice of Chretien.

The Roy Romanow Report was released in 2002, outlining suggestions to improve the health care system.

In 2003, Roy Romanow was sworn in as a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada by Governor General Clarkson, again on the advice of Prime Minister Chretien.

In 2003, Roy Romanow was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, and in 2004 was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Roy Romanow's government inherited a dire fiscal crisis, and their actions are credited with getting the province's finances back in order.

However, the pace at which Roy Romanow's government addressed the problem, and the economic austerity it implemented in order to do so, have been subject to debate.

Critics from the traditional left wing of the NDP like John Conway and John Warnock, along with former leadership candidate Nettie Wiebe, charged Roy Romanow with embracing neoliberalism and effectively betraying the NDP's social democratic tradition.

Roy Romanow's approach preserved a large activist role for government as well as a social safety net and investments in health care and education.

The other lasting legacy of the Roy Romanow era was a solidification of the rural-urban divide in Saskatchewan.