Loading…
Loading…
In a mass crossing, eight Saskatchewan Liberal MLAs cross the floor to join Roy Romanow's NDP government as part of a coalition agreement. The move effectively destroys the provincial Liberal party for a generation.
The NDP-Liberal coalition wins the 1999 Saskatchewan election, vindicating the alliance. However, the Saskatchewan Liberals are marginalized and eventually collapse.
Four Liberal and four PC members of the Saskatchewan legislature left their parties to create a brand new party - the Saskatchewan Party - uniting the right.
The Saskatchewan Party went on to become one of the most dominant political parties in the country, governing Saskatchewan since 2007.
The crossing of eight Saskatchewan Liberal MLAs to the NDP was unique — a negotiated coalition rather than individual defections. Roy Romanow's NDP needed the seats to govern, and the Liberals were willing to join in exchange for policy concessions. The move destroyed the Saskatchewan Liberal Party for a generation, demonstrating the risk of coalition-based crossings for the junior partner. It remains the largest provincial mass crossing in Canadian history.
Crossing the Floor. (1997). 8 Saskatchewan MLAs: Liberal / PC to Saskatchewan Party (1997). Retrieved 2026-06-07, from https://crossingthefloor.ca/crossings/8-saskatchewan-mlas-1997
Saskatchewan Liberal → Saskatchewan NDP
Same province