The Progressive Conservative government of Premier Grant Devine was defeated by the New Democratic Party, led by former provincial Attorney General Roy Romanow.

A major source of dissatisfaction with the Grant Devine government was the "Fair Share Saskatchewan" program, a scheme to distribute public service jobs more evenly across the province;[2][3] a plan especially unpopular with workers scheduled to be relocated from Regina to rural districts.

Another factor was the unpopularity of the federal Progressive Conservatives under then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

The Tories lost almost three-quarters of the seats they had held in the legislature, and a significant share of the popular vote.

The Liberal Party – led by Lynda Haverstock – was able to attract a substantial share of disaffected Tory voters.