The 2009 Saskatchewan New Democratic Party leadership election was held on June 5–7, 2009, to elect a successor to

Lorne Calvert Lorne Albert Calvert (born December 24, 1952) is a Canadian politician who served as the 13th premier of Saskatchewan, from 2001 to 2007. Calvert served as leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party and Member of the Legislative Assembly ...

as leader of the

Saskatchewan New Democratic Party The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (Saskatchewan NDP or Sask NDP), branded as the Saskatchewan New Democrats, is a social democratic political party in Saskatchewan, Canada. The party was founded in 1932 as the Farmer-Labour Group and was kno ...

. The election was necessary because Calvert had announced his intention to step down as leader on October 16, 2008.

Dwain Lingenfelter Dwain Lingenfelter (born February 27, 1949) is a former Canadian politician from Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. He was a Saskatchewan New Democratic Party, New Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1978 to 1986, 19 ...

won on the second ballot, defeating

Ryan Meili Ryan Meili (born April 11, 1975) is a Canadian physician and former politician from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He previously served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Saskatoon Meewasin from 2017 to 2022 and as leader of the Saska ...

Background

Dwain Lingenfelter was widely perceived to be the frontrunner during the leadership campaign, and attracted the most fundraising. Following the first ballot, Yens Pedersen withdrew and Deb Higgins was eliminated. Both chose to endorse Meili.

Candidates

Deb Higgins

Deb Higgins Debra Elaine Higgins is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the constituency of Moose Jaw Wakamow from 1999 to 2011 and served as the mayor of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan from 2012 to 2016. Polit ...

was the MLA for

Moose Jaw Wakamow Moose Jaw Wakamow is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. One of two provincial constituencies for the city of Moose Jaw, the riding contains the area of the city south of Caribou Street, northea ...

. She was first elected in the 1999 provincial election. Before entering politics, she was a

union organizer A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. In some unions, the organizer's role is to recruit groups of workers under the organizing ...

for

United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a trade union, labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufa ...

Dwain Lingenfelter

was previously the MLA for Regina Elphinstone from 1988 to 2000 and Shaunavon from 1978 to 1986. He had also served as Deputy Premier under

Roy Romanow Roy John Romanow (born August 12, 1939) is a Canadian politician who served as the 12th premier of Saskatchewan from 1991 to 2001. He was the leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party from 1987 until his retirement in 2001. He was the Mem ...

. Before entering politics, he was a farmer.

Ryan Meili

was a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

from

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Yens Pedersen

Yens Pedersen Yens Pedersen is a Canadian politician and lawyer, who served in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 2018 to 2020 representing the constituency of Regina Northeast. He is a former candidate in the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party lead ...

was a lawyer from Regina and the former president of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party. He was also the Saskatchewan NDP candidate for the constituency of Regina South in the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

provincial elections.

Ballot results

References

{{NDP Saskatchewan New Democratic Party leadership elections Saskatchewan New Democratic Party leadership election Leaders of the Saskatchewan CCF/NDP New Democratic Party leadership election Saskatchewan New Democratic Party leadership election Saskatchewan New Democratic Party leadership election