Sask. Government says NDP aiming to ‘silence’ residents with bill on referendum rules

The Government of Saskatchewan says the NDP is trying to “silence the voice of Saskatchewan people” by introducing legislation that would raise the threshold for a referendum vote on separation.

There has been much talk about separation in western provinces following the Liberals’ win in the federal election last month, but for citizens to trigger a referendum on separation in Saskatchewan the signatures of 15 per cent of the electorate – about 125,000 people – would be required.

In Saskatchewan, the result of a referendum is binding if at least 60 per cent of the votes are in favour and if at least half of those eligible to vote do so.

Read More:

• Moe discusses Saskatchewan’s relationship with Ottawa on Evan Bray Show
• Sask. NDP introduce bill to make separation vote tougher
• Alberta separation would send Canada into uncharted territory, say legal experts

Last week, Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck introduced a private member’s bill aiming to double the threshold for a vote on separation, meaning close to 250,000 signatures would be required.

Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck introduced a bill on Wednesday to raise the threshold for any plebiscite to be held in Saskatchewan raising a question of separation from Canada. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

In a statement issued on Monday morning, the provincial government argued that Beck and her party want to “take the voice away from hundreds of thousands of Saskatchewan people” and noted that 250,000 is “more than twice the number of people who voted for the NDP in Saskatchewan in any election since 1991.”

The government noted that it is “not looking to hold a referendum,” on separation, but said it will not “silence the voice of Saskatchewan people as the NDP wants to do.”

In a 2019 report, Chief Electoral Officer Michael Boda noted that no petition for a plebiscite has ever reached the stage where it was submitted to his office for verification in the 28 years the current legislation has been in effect. He argued the bar is set too high for the legislation to be effective, as collecting signatures and information from 125,000 residents would be an “onerous” endeavor for any citizen or group.

Beck argued that citizen-led referendums are a part of democracy, but said a referendum on separation would be harmful to Saskatchewan’s economy by driving jobs and investment out of the province.

Even talk of separatism is devastating to our economy.

It will cost us jobs, investment, even head offices.

We’ve seen this all before — the head office of the Bank of Montreal is located in Toronto.

Let's keep Saskatchewan in Canada. Let's focus on building our economy, on…

— Carla Beck (@CarlaBeckSK) May 12, 2025

The NDP leader’s bill would only raise the threshold for a referendum on the question of separation, allowing other petitions to move forward under the current requirements.

Premier Scott Moe said he wants Saskatchewan to remain part of the federation, but said he recognizes the long-standing frustrations many residents of the province have with the federal government and would consider a referendum vote if the threshold is met.

“We would follow the legislation that’s in place,” Moe said in a recent interview with 980 CJME. “And if Saskatchewan people want a voice, they would certainly get a voice. What we won’t consider is raising that bar even higher, in direct contravention of what the official election officers recommended just a few years ago.”

In an interview on the Evan Bray Show last week, Moe emphasized that he thinks Saskatchewan should remain a part of Canada, noting that it remains to be seen whether or not Prime Minister Mark Carney will enact policies that result in fair treatment for the western provinces.

“There is a place for Saskatchewan to continue to be a very significant contributing member of Canada,” the premier said.

Premier Scott Moe says his government would consider holding a referendum if the current threshold — signatures from 15 per cent of the province’s eligible voters — is met. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

“The frustrations are real and the federal government, I think, needs to address those frustrations, and it’s my job as the premier of this province to very much formulate what that positive relationship looks like moving forward, and that’s what I’ve attempted to do in our first call with the new prime minister, and I’ll continue to do that with him.”

During that interview, Moe argued that the federal NDP’s support for the Liberal government is part of the reason why the idea of separatism seems to be gaining traction.

“They’ve been not only part of enacting the policies that are causing the frustration, but now when people are at their boiling point, what we’re seeing in the (Saskatchewan) NDP – which is absolutely ridiculous – is they want to change the legislation to remove the voice that people have in between elections, and we just simply don’t think that’s right,” Moe told Bray.

–with files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick