Saskatchewan NDP’s anti-separation bill dies as legislative session wraps up

REGINA — Saskatchewan’s legislative session ended Thursday and with it an anti-separation bill went up in flames.

The Opposition NDP’s proposed legislation was repeatedly blocked this week by Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party, as New Democratic Leader Carla Beck tried to force a vote.

The bill would have doubled the threshold for the public to spur a vote on Saskatchewan separating from the rest of Canada, requiring 30 per cent of voters to sign a petition instead of 15 per cent.

The bill died on the order paper as a result of the session wrapping up.

“We have the embers of separatism flaring up in this province. We see it nearly in full flames next door in Alberta,” Beck told reporters.

“Scott Moe is holding a big bucket of water right now. He could douse those flames, make it clear. Instead, he seems to be more interested in placating those who want to burn the house down.”

Moe has said he’s not interested in Saskatchewan separating from Canada.

He told reporters he wouldn’t allow Beck’s bill to go to a vote, arguing it would be harder for people to bring forward a plebiscite on the issue.

“You know, 15 per cent is a very onerous number to begin with,” Moe said. Fifteen per cent of voters is roughly 124,000.

“We’re not looking to take Saskatchewan people’s voices away.”

The premier said earlier this month that he would allow a free vote on the bill, but that was before he saw it.

An online petition in Saskatchewan that calls on the province to negotiate new terms with Ottawa or look at separating had more than 3,500 signatures as of Thursday.

Moe said separation is not a current threat.

But “the disenfranchisement that many people in this province and others are feeling … it’s real,” he said.

He has held those same feelings of exclusion, he said.

“There are many that feel alienated. I think when you get to the core of separation or alienation talk, the lines will blur in that space, even for the folks who are actively discussing it.”

Moe has laid out 10 priorities for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government.

They include getting China to remove tariffs on Canadian agriculture products, strengthening the Criminal Code, repealing clean electricity regulations and the emissions cap, building economic corridors and reforming the Impact Assessment Act.

Moe said Ottawa’s relationship with Saskatchewan can improve if Carney takes action on those asks.

The premier added his change in tone can be viewed as an olive branch.

“There are some today that say we shouldn’t deal with the Liberal government, that we shouldn’t deal with a new prime minister,” Moe said. “Well, the fact of the matter is, he is the prime minister of our nation and we must deal with the federal government.”

During the legislative session, Moe’s government passed affordability legislation that reduces personal income taxes and saves an average family of four more than $3,400 over four years.

The province toughened rules where people using drugs or drinking alcohol will automatically be considered trespassing if they’re on public or private property.

It also passed a bill that opens the door for local governments to order firefighters to burn down derelict buildings.

Moe’s government passed a budget that projects a razor-thin surplus of $12 million, with more spending on education and health care.

The NDP grilled the fiscal plan for not reflecting the economic realities of U.S. President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on countries across the globe.

Beck also took aim at Moe’s “meek and weak” response to Trump, who has mused about Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state.

Beck said serious talk of the province separating would harm investment.

“Those market signals are incredibly important right now,” she said. “There is a need for a reset, a need for stability and the urgency to show some good will to the people of this country to show that things can get built.”

Saskatchewan has stopped purchasing American booze and is working to stop buying other U.S. goods in response to Trump’s tariffs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025.

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press