Editing Lorne Calvert (section)

=== NDP MLA (1986–1999) ===
Calvert entered provincial politics ahead of the [[1986 Saskatchewan general election|1986 provincial election]], running as a New Democrat on a platform of prohibiting the construction of a proposed [[Casino Moose Jaw|casino]] in Moose Jaw.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as the [[Member of the Legislative Assembly|Member]] (MLA) for the [[constituency]] of Moose Jaw South, serving in the Official Opposition to [[Grant Devine]]'s [[Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan|Progressive Conservative]] government. Calvert was re-elected in the [[1991 Saskatchewan general election|1991]] and [[1995 Saskatchewan general election|1995 elections]], when the NDP was both times elected to majority governments under the leadership of Roy Romanow.<ref name=":7" /> Calvert held a number of cabinet positions during his tenure, including as associate minister of health and minister responsible for [[SaskPower]] and [[SaskEnergy]]; from 1995, he was responsible for two large portfolios as both Minister of Health and Minister of Social Services.<ref name=":7" />

Romanow's tenure was noted for its fiscal conservatism, and the NDP's embrace of [[Third Way]] politics in the 1990s was divisive within the party.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=McGrane |first=David |title=Saskatchewan Politics: Crowding the Centre |publisher=Canadian Plains Research Centre |year=2008 |isbn=9780889772342 |editor-last=Leeson |editor-first=Howard |location=Regina |pages=155 |language=en-CA |chapter=Which Third Way? A Comparison of the Romanow and Calvert NDP Governments from 1991 to 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Warnock |first=John W. |title=Saskatchewan: The Roots of Discontent and Protest |publisher=[[Black Rose Books]] |year=2004 |isbn=1-55164-244-1 |location=Montreal |pages=413–414 |language=en-CA}}</ref> Calvert decided not to run in the [[1999 Saskatchewan general election|1999 election]]—which resulted in a minority NDP government—and was succeeded by [[Deb Higgins]] in the Moose Jaw riding.