John Gormley is a Hack (w/ Jeremy Davis)

Sara and John are back to discuss the federal NDP's election of Avi Lewis as leader and how the Saskatchewan NDP responded by fixing their aim on irrelevancy and slamming down the throttle. (Thank you to our loyal and beloved listeners for your patience this year! We're getting back into the swing of making the show and we're so glad to have you with us.)References:https://www.thewrit.ca/p/how-the-ndp-leadership-vote-brokeBeck's Letter: https://x.com/CanadianPolling/status/2038294089846682052/photo/1National Bank of Canada analysis of Canadian economy this quarterWilfred Laurier births Saskberta

We're back with a new cohost. In this episode Sara and John break down the results of the federal election in Saskatchewan. We answer the question of whether there was a Liberal surge (spoiler: no), examine the NDP collapse across the province, and consider the party's past attempts at rebuilding and whether it could be viable in the future (also no). (Note: we had some audio issues! We appreciate your patience!)

Scott Moe became leader of the Saskatchewan Party (and premier of the province) in 2018, after a hotly contested (and often unpleasant) leadership race. Considered "centre right" and someone who was likely to keep close to the party's status quo, Moe has instead marched the party (and the province) steadily rightward. Read more:https://breachmedia.ca/corporate-landlords-financiers-ceos-are-top-donors-to-scott-moes-saskatchewan-party/https://breachmedia.ca/in-saskatchewan-poilievre-allies-with-tycoons-who-treat-province-like-fiefdom/

In 1999 Brad wall was elected for the first time as a Sask Party MLA. Within 8 years, Wall would be premier. A free market capitalist and charismatic salesman, over the next decade Wall would weave a new narrative for saskatchewan to understand itself, changing the province's political culture forever. 

In the 1990s Saskatchewan was in almost as dire a position as it had been during the Great Depression. The province was on the verge of bankruptcy, people were leaving in droves, the PC party was collapsing under the weight of the fraud scandal, the Liberals were in freefall, and the NDP, led by Roy Romanow, was slashing services to the bone. The collapse of the PCs and Liberals, coupled with the NDP’s hard right turn away from everything it had ever claimed to stand for created the conditions for the rise of the party we live under today. First in a three-part series on the Saskatchewan Party. 

In 1982 Saskatchewan elected the second Conservative government in the province's history. By the time the dust settled nine years later the province is $12 billion in debt, 12 members of the Devine government are convicted of fraud, and the Progressive Conservatives cease to exist as a political force in Saskatchewan ever again. Sara talks with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Saskatchewan director Simon Enoch about the Devine era and its legacy, which haunts the province to this day. Support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unmakingsaskatchewan.

Evangelical Christians have impacted the social and political fabric of Saskatchewan for over a century, from fur-trade era missionaries to the temperance movement to the anti-trans "parent's rights" legislation. At the same time, the movement in Canada has tended towards moderation in comparison to their counterparts in the U.S. This episode examines the history of evangelicals in Saskatchewan and Canada and how the rise of Trump and the COVID era has put new energy into Canada's Christian right.Sources:This U.S.-based ‘hate group’ is using a shadowy network of lawyers and doctors to infiltrate CanadaHow Canadian evangelicalism is reinventing purity culture as ‘pro-women’Canada’s marginal ‘Christian right’Trinity Western loses fight for Christian law school as court rules limits on religious freedom 'reasonable'Exorcism at Sask. children's Bible camp could be criminal, say expertsFact Sheet: Public Opinion on Abortion

The evangelical movement is becoming increasingly salient in Saskatchewan politics, most recently with the passage of the anti-trans "parents' rights" legislation passed in fall 2023, legislation that had substantial backing from evangelical churches and organizations. Sara talks with Dallas Verity, a Regina resident who was raised in the church and worked as a youth pastor before leaving the church after coming to question its reactionary doctrines.Support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unmakingsaskatchewan.

The Sask United Party was registered as a political party in Saskatchewan in November 2022 and since then they've espoused a deeply fascist politic. SUP leader, Nadine Wilson, left the Sask Party caucus in September 2021 after lying about being vaccinated. The party ran its first candidate, oil executive and Evangelical Christian Jon Hromek, in the Lumsden Morse byelection in August 2023. On this episode Alex digs into Wilson and Hromek and unpacks the party's constitution, platform, and propaganda. Find us on Patreon at patreon.com/unmakingsaskatchewan.

More like GONE Gormley. On November 24th conservative hack and area goblin John Gormley will go off the airwaves for good after a quarter century of bloviating from the Rawlco studio. Jeremy Davis joins Sara to talk about Gormley’s legacy. Rest in piss, John!