Sask. PC party accusing Sask. United Party of underhanded dealings

After what it calls a foiled takeover attempt last year, the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan now says a hard drive with member and donor information is missing, and it’s pointing a finger squarely at the newly minted Sask. United Party.

Rose Buscholl, interim PC Party leader, said the party has been going over emails and documents since it got back control of things and they’ve revealed more about what happened last year.

“These emails show a clear attempt of certain individuals within the party trying to take over the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan and rebrand it as the Conservative Party,” explained Buscholl.

She and Rick Swenson, interim PC Party president, said some members within the party and some without tried to hold a meeting and vote in new vice-presidents who would go along with a plan to rename it and move the party more to the political right.

“It was a broad-based attempt through holding a meeting in the middle of COVID, change the rules of the game in the constitution, appoint people to the board who would then be the majority of the board and move forward with the takeover,” said Swenson.

They believe this was a push by the architects of what is now the Sask. United Party – with Nadine Ness and Lee Noble mentioned in the emails, as well as talk of Nadine Wilson agreeing to become leader. Wilson is currently the leader of the Sask. United Party. There’s also talk in the emails of a date to rename the party.

When the takeover attempt failed, Swenson and Buscholl said the splinter group decided to form the Sask. United Party instead. The two believe the group was interested in taking over the PCs for its more than $2-million trust fund and its member list.

Now, Swenson and Buscholl said since they came to be in charge of the party, they’ve been searching for a hard drive and backup drives that contain information and contact for members and donors.

“We have turned this place upside down. We’ve talked to innumerable people saying, ‘Where is it?’ ” said Swenson.

He believes the drives were taken from the PC’s office and the Sask. United Party has them because the party has been hearing from members who’ve been contacted by Sask. United, but hadn’t given their information.

“I don’t know if it’s at Nadine Wilson’s office over at the Leg or not, but somebody obviously is using information that was proprietary,” said Swenson.

Buscholl said they want the drive back but she doesn’t want to go to the RCMP about this unless she has to.

“We’re hoping that there’s enough integrity still in politics that we don’t have to go that route,” said Buscholl.

A request was sent to the Sask. United Party to speak to someone about these accusations; a statement from the party president was sent instead.

Dwight Bunyan calls the accusations from the PC Party ridiculous.

“It is unclear what the PC Party is suggesting, however we can definitively state that no such computer, data, or any other information belonging to the PC’s was at any time, or is now, in the possession or use of the Saskatchewan United Party,” read the statement.

Bunyan went on to accuse the PCs of mismanaging the security of their devices and deflecting those issues onto Sask. United.

Emails provided by the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan include added emphasis.