Lyle Eldon Stewart (June 4, 1951 – July 30, 2024) was a Canadian provincial politician. A member of the

Saskatchewan Party The Saskatchewan Party (SP or Sask Party) is a conservative political party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was founded in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative ...

, he served six terms in the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...

Life and career

Stewart was born on June 4, 1951. He first became involved in politics in the 1970s. Stewart served as the

executive assistant A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evaluat ...

Colin Thatcher Wilbert Colin Thatcher (born August 25, 1938) is a Canadian politician who was convicted for the murder of his ex-wife, JoAnn Wilson. Early life Colin Thatcher was born in Toronto, Ontario, on August 25, 1938. His father, Saskatchewan-born Ro ...

, who served as the MLA for Thunder Creek. Thatcher was a former

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

who had

crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

to the Progressive Conservatives prior to that party winning power in the 1982 election. After Thatcher resigned in disgrace upon receiving a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...

for the 1983 murder of his ex-wife, Stewart twice sought the PC nomination, first for the ensuing

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in 1985 and again for the 1986 general election. On both occasions, he was defeated by

Rick Swenson Rick Swenson, sometimes known as the "King of the Iditarod", (born 1950 in Willmar, Minnesota), is an American dog musher who was first to win the 1,049-mile (1688.2 km) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska five times, a ...

. After the riding switched back to the Liberals following the 1995 election, Stewart joined the new

which had essentially replaced the scandal-ridden PC's as the largest centre-right party in the province. This time, he defeated Swenson for the nomination. Stewart then unseated incumbent Liberal Gerard Aldridge in the 1999 general election. Stewart represented the constituency of Thunder Creek until its abolition in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. Stewart was subsequently elected in

Lumsden-Morse Lumsden-Morse is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. It was created mostly from parts of Thunder Creek plus six other ridings and was first contested in the 2016 election. The riding hugs t ...

, a new electoral district encompassing most of the former Thunder Creek constituency. Stewart had been the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation since May 25, 2012, a role he maintained following the August 23, 2016 cabinet shuffle. He had been a member of the

Executive Council of Saskatchewan The Executive Council of Saskatchewan (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Saskatchewan) is the cabinet of that Canadian province. Typically made up of members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan (MLAs), the Cabinet is similar i ...

since the Saskatchewan Party won its first majority government in 2007, previously serving as the Minister for Enterprise and Innovation. On August 9, 2018, he announced he was resigning from Cabinet due to health concerns. In late 2020 Stewart was named Legislative Secretary to the Premier responsible for Provincial Autonomy and also the role of Provincial secretary. Stewart caused controversy in October 2022 when his mentor

attended the

Speech from the Throne A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or their representative, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a Legislative session, session is opened. ...

. Thatcher was on parole for the murder of his wife, JoAnn Wilson. Stewart later acknowledged in a statement that he had invited Thatcher, whom he called a "friend", and admitted that the invitation was an "error in judgment". He was removed from his role as legislative secretary by Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe but permitted to remain as a party caucus member. On March 6, 2023, Stewart announced his resignation from the legislative assembly effective March 10, citing health reasons. He died from complications of cancer in

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

, on July 30, 2024, at the age of 73.

Electoral record

, - , Larry Hall , align="right", 1,997 , align="right", 23.16% , align="right", -7.65 , Richard Swenson , align="right", 295 , align="right", 3.42% , align="right", - , - bgcolor="white" !align="left" colspan=3, Total !align="right", 8,624 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - , Ivan Costley , align="right", 1,496 , align="right", 19.96% , align="right", -10.90 , - bgcolor="white" !align="left" colspan=3, Total !align="right", 7,496 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right",

Cabinet positions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Lyle 1951 births 2024 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Party MLAs 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan Canadian ranchers Farmers from Saskatchewan Deaths from cancer in Saskatchewan