The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan: A case study of public ownership concerning the policies of successive Saskatchewan governments from 1944 to presen

State enterprise has been used in Saskatchewan to provide various goods and services. Preference for this policy instrument was particularly pronounced in the immediate postwar period, and can be attributed to the election of a social democratic administration in the province.;As the thesis demonstrates, public ownership of certain industries was to evolve as objectives of the CCF Douglas-Lloyd administration and its political and ideological successor, the NDP government of Allan Blakeney. With regard to Premier Blakeney's administration, the thesis examines the series of events that led to the creation of a stateowned potash industry in the province. It then describes the circumstances which led to the eventual "privatization" of the industry during the mandates of Blakeney's political successors.;The argument presented in the thesis is that the use of public ownership to create a state-owned potash firm was the product of political, ideological and economic factors which in the immediate future are not likely to recur.;The thesis examines the relevant policy positions of all Saskatchewan governments since 1944. Prior to a discussion of what specific administrations contributed to this process, important background material on the nature and role of public ownership in the Canadian environment is introduced from the disciplines of public administration and political economy.;The thesis discusses the specific details of potash nationalization, the economic results and the ultimate disabandonment of the enterprise by the Saskatchewan government. It then provides some conclusions about how the provincial government's attitude towards public ownership has changed since the Blakeney administration created a state-owned potash industry in 1975.