Lynn Oliphant is a professor emeritus from the Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan and a founding member of the Prairie Institute for Human Ecology. Oliphant was a frequent candidate for the Green Party of Saskatchewan and a one-time candidate for the Green Party of Canada, but was never elected.

Life and career

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Oliphant received a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Washington and moved to Saskatchewan in 1971. There he became actively involved with the Saskatchewan Environmental Society.

Oliphant began running as a political candidate in Saskatchewan for the New Green Alliance in 1999, a party that would later be renamed the Green Party of Saskatchewan. In a province that has never elected a Green candidate to the Legislative Assembly, Oliphant never received more than 291 votes in four provincial elections between 1999 and 2011. Oliphant also ran as a federal Green Party candidate in the 2004 federal election.

Oliphant has been recognized for promoting sustainability. In the late 1990s, Oliphant constructed a straw-bale house near Aberdeen, what he called a "physical demonstration of an alternative home" that could function in the Prairie climate.[1] In 2005, he received a Canadian Environment Award for his work on the Craik Sustainable Living Project, which was a project proposed by the Prairie Institute for Human Ecology.[2] In 2016, Oliphant founded a private graveyard on his own property that could offer sustainable burials at twelve gravesites, which he called Prairie Sky Cemetery.[3] In 2023, at the age of 80, Oliphant was one of seven Saskatchewan residents who took the provincial government to court over its failure to achieve greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that the continued expansion of fossil fuel-fired electricity generation ultimately violates Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[4]

Electoral results

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Provincial

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2011 Saskatchewan general election: Humboldt
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Saskatchewan Donna Harpauer 5,677 73.02% +15.45%
  NDP Gord Bedient 1,807 23.24% -4.77%
Green Lynn Oliphant 291 3.74% +1.27%
Total 7,775 100.00%
2007 Saskatchewan general election: Saskatoon Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Saskatchewan Joceline Schriemer 3,679 43.85 +17.53
  NDP Graham Addley 3,410 40.64 -5.95
Liberal Dave Parker 1,034 12.32 -13.30
Green Lynn Oliphant 268 3.19 +1.72
Total 8,391 100.00
2003 Saskatchewan general election: Saskatoon Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
  NDP Graham Addley 3,616 46.59 +2.17
Saskatchewan Patrick Bundrock 2,043 26.32 -11.84
Liberal Mark Kelleher 1,988 25.62 +8.20
New Green Lynn Oliphant 114 1.47 *
Total 7,761 100.00
1999 Saskatchewan general election: Saskatoon Fairview
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
  NDP Chris Axworthy 2,653 56.68 -7.55
Saskatchewan Sandra Rees 1,137 24.29 +3.11
Liberal Barry Anderson 649 13.86 +1.67
  Prog. Conservative Gwen Katzman 153 3.27 -
New Green Lynn Oliphant 89 1.90 -0.50
Total 4,681 100.00

Federal

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2004 Canadian federal election: Blackstrap
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Lynne Yelich 15,608 41.5 +2.6 $71,019
Liberal Tiffany Paulsen 11,815 31.4 +8.8 $50,307
New Democratic Don Kossick 8,862 23.6 -2.8 $51,849
Green Lynn Oliphant 1,168 3.1 +1.7 $25
Christian Heritage Clayton Sundberg 177 0.5
Total valid votes 37,630 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 98 0.3 0.0
Turnout 37,728 64 -2
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References

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  1. ^ "Little straw house on the Prairie a cosy home". CBC News. 2005-12-09. Archived from the original on 2023-10-08. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  2. ^ Riess, Kelly-Anne (2010-03-24). "How to build an eco-village in five easy steps". This Magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  3. ^ Fitzpatrick, Kathy (2016-12-26). "Former prof sets up private cemetery for 'green' burials". Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Archived from the original on 2016-12-27. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  4. ^ McLernon, Will (2023-04-24). "Saskatchewan residents taking province to court to try to force climate action". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-04-28. Retrieved 2023-10-08.