Allan Blakeney
Encyclopedia
Allan Emrys Blakeney, PC
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...

, OC
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

, SOM
Saskatchewan Order of Merit
The Saskatchewan Order of Merit is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Instituted in 1985 by Lieutenant Governor Frederick Johnson, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Grant Devine, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...

, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

, FRSC (September 7, 1925 April 16, 2011) was the tenth Premier
Premier of Saskatchewan
The Premier of Saskatchewan is the first minister for the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive....

 of the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 province of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

 from 1971 to 1982, and leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party
Saskatchewan New Democratic Party
The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It currently forms the official opposition, but has been a dominant force in Saskatchewan politics since the 1940s...

 (NDP).

Life and career

Born in Bridgewater
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
Bridgewater is a town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada, at the navigable limit of the LaHave River. It is the largest town in the South Shore region. While the majority of the South Shore's economy is based upon the tourist trade, Bridgewater is more a commercial and industrial centre and...

, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, Blakeney took his law degree at Dalhousie Law School
Dalhousie Law School
The Schulich School of Law is part of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Formerly called Dalhousie Law School, it was established in 1883, making it the oldest university-affiliated common law school in the Commonwealth. It is the primary law school in Atlantic Canada and...

, and was a Rhodes Scholar at the Queen's College, Oxford, where he played for the Oxford University Ice Hockey Club
Oxford University Ice Hockey Club
Oxford University Ice Hockey Club, sometimes known as Oxford Blues, is one of the world's oldest ice hockey teams. Tradition places the origin of the club in 1885, when a match is said to have been played against Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club at St Moritz...

.

On returning to Canada, he became a senior civil servant in Saskatchewan before entering politics in 1960 and serving as a cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

 minister in the governments of Tommy Douglas
Tommy Douglas
Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...

 and Woodrow S. Lloyd. As minister of health, he played a crucial role in the introduction of Medicare
Medicare (Canada)
Medicare is the unofficial name for Canada's publicly funded universal health insurance system. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.Under the terms of the Canada Health...

.

NDP leader

In 1970, Blakeney succeeded Lloyd as leader of the Saskatchewan NDP, which was then in opposition. Historically, his election as leader has been interpreted as a victory of the provincial NDP's "establishment" over its extreme left-wing Waffle
The Waffle
The Waffle was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little electoral success before it permanently disbanded in the mid-1970s...

 faction, because Lloyd was trying to move the party more to the political left, which meant he supported the Waffle Manifesto
Manifesto for an Independent Socialist Canada
The Manifesto for an Independent Socialist Canada was a document drafted by a leftist faction of Canada's New Democratic Party, known as the Waffle, in 1969. When that group briefly left the NDP between 1972 and 1974, it became their party's main programmatic statement.The Manifesto for an...

 at the October 1969 Federal NDP convention in Winnipeg. As well, Lloyd backed The Waffle's right to debate issues after the convention which disturbed many of his MLAs, who eventually forced him to resign in March 1970.

Premier

In the 1971 provincial election
Saskatchewan general election, 1971
The Saskatchewan general election of 1971 was the seventeenth provincial election in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 23, 1971, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....

, Blakeney led the party to power, defeating Ross Thatcher's Liberal
Saskatchewan Liberal Party
The Saskatchewan Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.-Early history :The party dominated Saskatchewan politics for the province's first forty years providing six of the first seven Premiers, and being in power for all but five of the years between the...

 government.

Blakeney's government practised state-led economic intervention in the economy.

The farmers were a high priority, as globalization began transforming agriculture, weakening the traditional family farm through consolidation,
mechanization, and corporatization. The NDP promised a "revitalized
rural Saskatchewan," and Blakeney's introduced programs to stabilize crop prices, retain transportation links, and modernize rural life. Looking back he lamented his lack of success: "We were, it seems, King Canute trying
to hold back the tide."

His government created a Crown corporation in the potash
Potash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...

 industry in an attempt to further diversify the province's agrarian economy and threatened expropriation of private potash mines within the province. Blakeney pointed out that the sums paid for these mines were slightly in excess of their appraised "book" value. However, the mere threat of expropriation created a political firestorm that involved even the U.S. government.

Blakeney also created a state-owned oil and gas corporation (SaskOil) to handle oil exploration and production. The private oil industry had essentially abandoned Saskatchewan following the NDP's imposition of extremely high royalty rate policy of the early 1970s. Prime Minister Trudeau's policies (to centralize control in Ottawa) outraged Blakeney, and he moved closer to Alberta's position of open hostility. Blakeney joined Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 Progressive Conservative Premier Peter Lougheed
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985....

 in a fight for provincial rights over minerals, oil and gas.
Blakeney played an important role in the federal-provincial negotiations that led to the 1982 patriation of the Canadian constitution
Canada Act 1982
The Canada Act 1982 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed at the request of the Canadian federal government to "patriate" Canada's constitution, ending the necessity for the country to request certain types of amendment to the Constitution of Canada to be made by the...

.

Defeats in 1982, 1986

Blakeney's government was defeated in the 1982 provincial election
Saskatchewan general election, 1982
The Saskatchewan general election of 1982 was the twentieth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on April 26, 1982, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....

, in its attempt to win a fourth successive term. It was defeated by the Progressive Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan
The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan is a right-of-centre political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Prior to 1942, it was known as the Conservative Party of Saskatchewan. Members are commonly known as Tories....

, led by Grant Devine
Grant Devine
Donald Grant Devine was the 11th Premier of Saskatchewan from May 8, 1982 to November 1, 1991.- Early life :Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, he received a B.Sc. in Agriculture degree specializing in Agricultural Economics in 1967 from the University of Saskatchewan, an M.Sc. specializing in...

.

Once in opposition, Blakeney continued to lead the party up to the 1986 provincial election
Saskatchewan general election, 1986
The Saskatchewan general election of 1986 was the twenty-first provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on October 20, 1986, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....

. Though the party not only recovered many seats but also gained more votes overall than Devine's Progressive Conservatives, he fell short of defeating the government and resigned in 1987 to be succeeded by Roy Romanow
Roy Romanow
Roy John Romanow, PC, OC, QC, SOM is a Canadian politician and the 12th Premier of Saskatchewan ....

.

On April 30, 1992, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

 for his work as Premier of Saskatchewan, his enormous contribution to the field of public administration and as a key player in introducing the first comprehensive public medical health care plan in Canada. In 2000, he was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit
Saskatchewan Order of Merit
The Saskatchewan Order of Merit is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Instituted in 1985 by Lieutenant Governor Frederick Johnson, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Grant Devine, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...

. In 2001, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...

. Blakeney is also a past president of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association or CCLA, is Canada's leading national organization devoted to the defence of civil liberties and constitutional rights, both inside and outside the courts. The organization's work focuses on constitutional litigation, law reform, advocating on civil...

.

Death

As a private citizen Blakeney served as a consultant to the Romanow government in the 1990s when they sold the former state owned government corporation to Occidental Petroleum. Then Blakeney served on the board of directors of the successor corporation.
Blakeney died on April 16, 2011 at his home in Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....

 of complications from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

.

Federal NDP leader Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...

 dedicated the rest of his federal election campaign to Blakeney, who died about halfway through the campaign. About 600 people attended his memorial, including federal NDP leaders Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...

 and Ed Broadbent
Ed Broadbent
John Edward "Ed" Broadbent, is a Canadian social democratic politician and political scientist. He was leader of the federal New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. In the 2004 federal election, he returned to Parliament for one additional term as the Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre.-Life...

, former provincial premiers Roy Romanow
Roy Romanow
Roy John Romanow, PC, OC, QC, SOM is a Canadian politician and the 12th Premier of Saskatchewan ....

, Lorne Calvert
Lorne Calvert
Lorne Albert Calvert, MLA was the 13th Premier of Saskatchewan, from 2001 to 2007. Calvert, was the leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party from 2001 to June 6, 2009, when he was succeeded by Dwain Lingenfelter.In 1975, Calvert married Betty Sluzalo of Perdue, Saskatchewan. After attending...

, Peter Lougheed
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985....

, Ed Schreyer, Bill Davis
Bill Davis
William Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...

, and Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

, as well the current Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall
Brad Wall
Bradley John "Brad" Wall, MLA is a Canadian politician who has been the 14th Premier of Saskatchewan since November 21, 2007....

.
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