Donald Grant Devine SOM (born July 5, 1944) is a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Saskatchewan from 1982 to 1991.

Prior to entering politics, Devine taught agricultural marketing and consumer economics at the University of Saskatchewan.

Devine's tenure was marked by tax reductions, privatization of state-owned companies, increased financial support for farmers, and the quadrupling of the provincial debt.

[1][2] Devine's first foray into politics came during the 1978 provincial election when he ran for the Progressive Conservatives in the riding of Saskatoon Nutana.

[3] The following November, Devine contested a by-election in the riding of Estevan, losing a close three-way race by 60 votes.

[5] The election result on 26 April was a landslide victory for the Progressive Conservatives, who won 55 out of 64 seats and 54 percent of the popular vote.

Devine took office after more than a decade of NDP government marked by state-led economic development, particularly in the realm of natural resources, and an expansion of public services and healthcare.

However, observers have noted that early on Devine's government "lacked ideological clarity"—although it did cut taxes, it also spent quite freely.

One of Devine's first actions as premier was to organize an "Open for Business" conference in October 1982 to emphasize free enterprise and private investment in Saskatchewan and the fact that the "socialist" era in the province, represented by the NDP, was over.

[2] The government attempted to privatize SaskEnergy, the natural gas division of SaskPower, but a legislative walk-out by the Opposition—and a public petition with over 100,000 signatures—prevented it.

[2][13] The Devine government offered a universal, low-interest loan program to farmers that cost the province $1 billion.

[13] The programs were deemed critical given a prolonged drought and depressed grain prices that created serious financial trouble for the province's agricultural sector.

[22] His government was criticized late in its second term for undemocratic legislative tactics, including proroguing the Legislature and financing expenditures through the dubious use of special warrants.

[21][23] In its determination to privatize PotashCorp in 1989, the PCs enacted closure for the first time in Saskatchewan history to avoid debate and public scrutiny on the issue.

[25] Also unpopular was a pre-election proposal to create a "Fair Share, Saskatchewan" program that promised to 'redistribute' more than 1,300 government and crown corporation jobs from Regina to smaller communities throughout the province—the scheme was seen as another bid to buy rural votes, and one that was in no way necessary.

[27] After two terms in power, Devine's PCs suffered a landslide defeat in the 1991 election at the hands of the NDP, now led by former attorney general Roy Romanow.

[32] After an RCMP investigation concluded in 1995, it was revealed that the PCs were responsible for a major expense fraud scheme that unfolded during the party's second term in office, between 1987 and 1991.

In particular, observers have noted that the Devine era marked an entrenchment of neoliberal economic policy in the province and a deepening divide between rural and urban issues and voters.

Moreover, the accumulation of debt under Devine left the province on the brink of bankruptcy; when Roy Romanow's NDP drastically cut spending to deal with the fiscal crisis, it signaled an entrenchment of neoliberalism.

[42] Although he had been encouraged to run by Conservative deputy leader Peter MacKay, the party ultimately ruled that Devine was an undesirable candidate—due in part to the Saskatchewan PC expense fraud scandal—and denied him the nomination.