Allan Blakeney
A pragmatic socialist who transformed Saskatchewan with bold public enterprise, creating a legacy of crown corporations and universal healthcare.
1925–2011 (age 86)·Premier of Saskatchewan from 1971 to 1982·Birthday: September 7·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Allan Blakeney brought a sharp legal mind and a quiet, determined pragmatism to the project of democratic socialism in Canada's prairie heartland. A Nova Scotia native who found his purpose in Saskatchewan, he was a key architect in Tommy Douglas's pioneering government, helping to lay the groundwork for Medicare. As premier himself in the 1970s, he steered the province through an era of resource nationalism, using oil and potash revenues to build a formidable network of crown corporations. His government created the Saskatchewan Heritage Fund and expanded public ownership, believing firmly that wealth from the land should benefit all its people. Blakeney was not a fiery orator but a meticulous administrator, respected even by opponents for his integrity and intellect. After electoral defeat, he served as a respected elder statesman and professor, his career a testament to the idea that government could be both principled and competently managed.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Allan was born in 1925, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Allan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1925
#1 Movie
The Gold Rush
Allan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1925Born
The Scopes Trial debates evolution in schools
Home: $4,366President: Calvin Coolidge"Sweet Georgia Brown" — Ben Bernie
1930Started school
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1938Became a teenager
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1941Could drive
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1943Could vote
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1946Turned 21
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1955Turned 30
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1965Turned 40
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1975Turned 50
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1985Turned 60
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 70
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 80
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2011Died at 86
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
Key Achievements
- As Minister of Finance, he was instrumental in implementing Canada's first universal public healthcare program, Medicare, in Saskatchewan in 1962.
- Premier during the 1970s resource boom, he established the Saskatchewan Heritage Fund to save non-renewable resource revenues for future generations.
- Led the creation of several major crown corporations, including the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PotashCorp), asserting public control over the province's key resource.
- Successfully defended Saskatchewan's right to tax natural resources before the Supreme Court of Canada in a landmark 1978 case.
Did You Know?
He was a Rhodes Scholar, studying at Oxford University after his service in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II.
Blakeney was an avid runner and could often be seen jogging around Regina's Wascana Lake, even while premier.
He taught constitutional law at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Law after leaving electoral politics.
Despite leading a socialist government, he was known for his fiscal conservatism and balanced budgets.
“The role of government is to do for people what they cannot do, or cannot do as well, for themselves.”
