Richard Swenson
Richard Swenson | |
---|---|
Leader of the Leader of the Opposition in Saskatchewan | |
In office 1993–1994 | |
Preceded by | Grant Devine |
Succeeded by | Bill Boyd |
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Thunder Creek | |
In office 1985–1995 | |
Preceded by | Colin Thatcher |
Succeeded by | Gerard Aldridge |
Personal details | |
Born | Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan[1] | April 12, 1952
Political party | Progressive Conservative (1985-1997, 2006-present) Saskatchewan Party (1997-1999) |
Website | www |
Richard James "Rick" Swenson (born April 12, 1952) is a provincial level politician from Saskatchewan, Canada. He was a member of the Saskatchewan Legislature from 1985 to 1995,[1] and is still active in provincial politics. He was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan from 2006 until 2018.
He was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, the son of Donald Swenson, and grew up in the Baildon district. Swenson was educated at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina. In 1976, he established Wheaton Bee Farms, specializing in alfalfa seed and dryland grass production. Swenson also helped form the Baildon/Moose Jaw Effluent Irrigation Project.[1]
Swenson was elected to the Legislature in a by-election held in the
The Progressive Conservatives were returned to power with Swenson being re-elected just a little over a year later in the
In 1997, Swenson along with most members of the PC Party and with a number of disaffected Liberals joined the newly formed Saskatchewan Party while the scandal-ridden PC's essentially went dormant under the nominal leadership of Iris Dennis. After it had become clear that Aldridge would remain with the Liberals, Swenson sought the Saskatchewan Party nomination in Thunder Creek for the 1999 election. This time, Swenson was defeated for the nomination by Stewart.
Swenson spent few years out of provincial politics before returning in 2006 when the Progressive Conservatives announced plans to revive the party after years of running paper candidates in order to avoid deregistration. He was elected as party leader, but was only able to attract four other candidates besides himself to run in the 2007 general election. Swenson ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the Thunder Creek constituency, placing a distant fourth out of five candidates. In the 2011 general election, the PC's again ran five candidates in total, with Swenson running this time in nearby Moose Jaw North, earning a similar number of votes compared to his 2007 result and placing a distant third out of four candidates. Swenson ran in Last Mountain-Touchwood in the 2016 general election and posted his best result as PC Leader, finishing in third place with about ten percent of the vote. His party ran eighteen candidates, although none finished better than third place.
Swenson announced in November 2016 that he will be stepping down as leader as soon as the party organizes a leadership convention.[2]
Electoral record
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saskatchewan | Warren Michelson | 4,474 | 59.09% | - | |
NDP | Derek Hassen | 2,726 | 36.01% | - | |
Prog. Conservative | Richard Swenson | 273 | 3.61% | - | |
Green | Corinne Johnson | 98 | 1.29% | - | |
Total | 7,571 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saskatchewan | Lyle Stewart | 5,558 | 64.45% | +10.92 | |
NDP
|
Larry Hall | 1,997 | 23.16% | -7.65 | |
Liberal | Rod Haugerud | 590 | 6.84% | -6.84 | |
Prog. Conservative | Richard Swenson | 295 | 3.42% | - | |
Green | Russ Rudd | 184 | 2.13% | - | |
Total | 8,624 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Progressive Conservative
|
Richard Swenson | 2,929 | 42.61% | -10.91 | |
NDP
|
Ron Bishoff | 2,240 | 32.59% | +6.15 | |
Liberal
|
Bill Johnstone | 1,639 | 23.84% | +4.34 | |
Independent
|
Dwayne McBride | 66 | 0.96% | - | |
Total | 6,874 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Progressive Conservative
|
Richard Swenson | 3,773 | 53.52% | +11.03 | |
NDP
|
Betty Payne | 1,864 | 26.44% | -1.09 | |
Liberal | Bill Johnstone | 1,375 | 19.50% | -7.60 | |
Western Canada Concept |
Robert Gleim | 38 | 0.54% | -2.34 | |
Total | 7,050 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Progressive Conservative
|
Richard Swenson | 2,670 | 42.49% | - | |
NDP
|
Betty Payne | 1,730 | 27.53% | - | |
Liberal | Bill Johnstone | 1,703 | 27.10% | - | |
Western Canada Concept |
Henry Banman | 181 | 2.88% | - | |
Total | 6,284 | 100.00% |
References
- ^ a b c d "Swenson, Richard James, 1952-". Saskatchewan Archival Information Network. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
- ^ "Rick Swenson stepping down as leader of PC Party of Sask". CBC News. 5 November 2016.