John Nilson

Nilson was born in Saskatoon and was raised in Western Canada.[2] He pursued his education at Pacific Lutheran University, the University of Oslo, St. Olaf College, and the University of British Columbia, where he obtained his law degree in 1977.[1] He was admitted to the British Columbia bar in 1978 and the Saskatchewan bar in 1979.[2] He practiced law and mediation with Macpherson, Leslie and Tyerman until he was first elected to the Legislature in 1995.[2]

Nilson was first elected in the 1995 provincial election, which resulted in a second consecutive majority government for the New Democrats (NDP) under Roy Romanow. Nilson was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General on November 22, 1995.[2] Boasting Norwegian heritage, Nilson would become known for taking some time to speak Norwegian in the legislature each year on or around Norwegian Constitution Day.[3] In 1997, Nilson was accosted at the legislature by a man who claimed he was placing Nilson under citizen's arrest; the man was detained by security and charged with assault. The incident led to security reforms at the legislature.[4]

Nilson later served as Minister of Crown Investments Corporation, Minister of Health, and Minister of Environment. He became Saskatchewan's longest-serving health minister and in that role oversaw a ban on smoking in public spaces and the public display of cigarettes, which he later cited as a highlight of his career.[5]

The NDP lost the 2007 election to the Saskatchewan Party, after which Nilson was named Opposition critic for Intergovernmental Affairs.[2]

Nilson was re-elected in the 2011 election; however, the NDP was reduced to just nine seats, and party leader Dwain Lingenfelter lost his own seat and resigned.[6] In the wake of the election, Nilson was unanimously chosen as interim leader of the party until a new leader was elected.[7] Nilson stated at the time that he would not run for the party leadership.[8] As Opposition leader, Nilson unsuccessfully opposed the expansion of seats in the legislature from 58 to 61, and more successfully urged the government against extensive labour reforms, including a proposal to allow union members to opt out of paying union dues.[9][10] On March 9, 2013, Cam Broten was elected as the new leader at the party's leadership convention.[11]

Nilson announced in December 2014 that he would not run in the next election and would be retiring from politics; he would continue to sit as an MLA until the Assembly was dissolved for the 2016 general election.[5][12]

• Saskatchewan New Democrats: Regina Lakeview