Constituency Profile: Cypress Hills

Click here to get a map of Cypress Hills constituency

This marks the first in a series of 58 constituency profiles in lead up to the November 7, 2011 provincial election in Saskatchewan. We start things off today with the profile for the Cypress Hills constituency in the extreme southwest corner of Saskatchewan.

For decades the riding now known as Cypress Hills formed the lynchpin or cornerstone of the old Liberal 'L', the 15-odd seats along the Alberta and United States borders that the Saskatchewan Liberal Party could always count on winning. This voting history of this area is very much on the political right. David Wylie of the Conservatives was the first MLA for this area, from 1905 until 1917 when he lost to Alexander Colquhoun of the Liberals. This seat was then in the Liberal camp in the 1921, 1925, 1929, 1934 and 1938 elections. In fact in 1925, Peter Hyde was acclaimed as the Liberal MLA for Maple Creek (as this constituency was known until 1995). The most noteworthy MLA from this period was George Spence from 1927 to 1934. Spence held several cabinet portfolios in the Liberal dynasty, including Highways, Railways, Labour and Industries, Agriculture and Public Works. Spence was also elected in 1925 as the federal Liberal MP for Maple Creek. The Liberal streak ended in 1944 with the CCF sweep and the election of Beatrice Trew in this riding. Trew was the grandmother of Kim Trew, who has just retired as the MLA for Regina Coronation Park after 25 years.

Trew's hold on Maple Creek didn't last long. In 1948, Alex Cameron of Richmound took back Maple Creek for the Liberals, and would remain the MLA for this area through the 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1967 elections until his defeat in 1971. Cameron was the Liberal finance critic through the 1950s, and was runner-up in the 1959 leadership race. When the Liberals ended their 20 years in opposition in 1964, Cameron joined the Thatcher Government as Minister of Natural Resources and played a key role in shotgunning the rise of the Potash industry in Saskatchewan.

The 1970s was a period of transition in the Maple Creek riding. The NDP edged out a narrow win here in 1971, but the Liberals took back the seat in 1975. In the historic 1978 election that saw the first collapse of the Saskatchewan Liberals, this riding went from the Liberals to the PC column. The new MLA was Joan Duncan, who would be re-elected here in 1982 and 1986. Duncan was one of the first women to become a cabinet minister in Saskatchewan and held several cabinet portfolios in the Devine Government including Tourism and Northern Affairs. Duncan was dropped from cabinet in 1989 and didn't run for re-election in 1991.

In 1991, the PC Party hung onto this seat in spite of the NDP landslide win. Jack Goohsen from Gull Lake was the new MLA here. Goohsen was left out of the creation of the Saskatchewan Party in 1997, likely because he was charged at the time of trying to buy sex from a prostitute. Goohsen was later convicted of that charge and resigned as the MLA for Cypress Hills. In the June 28, 1999 by-election, Cypress Hills was won by Wayne Elhard of the Saskatchewan Party, making him the first elected Sask Party MLA. When the Sask Party won government in 2007, Elhard was made Provincial Secretary and Minister of Highways and Infrastructure.

To date, none of the other parties have nominated anyone to run against Elhard. This is a testament to Elhard's personal popularity and his iron grip on the riding. In 2003 Elhard was elected in Cypress Hills with over 75% of the vote, and there is no reason to believe that he will have any difficulty getting re-elected this time, especially if he is acclaimed!