James Garfield Gardiner PC (30 November 1883 – 12 January 1962) was a Canadian farmer, educator, and politician.

A highly-partisan Liberal, his government lost its majority in the legislature in the 1929 election both from patronage scandals and partly through an anti-French, anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant campaign waged by the Ku Klux Klan.

As Leader of the Opposition, Gardiner accused James Anderson's Conservative government of bigotry and alleged that it was linked with the Klan.

Gardiner held the agriculture portfolio for 22 years until the 1957 federal election resulted the Liberal government bring defeated.

[4] His other son, Pilot Officer John Edwin (1919–1942), serving with Number 403 Squadron, RCAF, was killed in action while providing air cover and support during the Dieppe Raid on August 19, 1942.

It was passed unanimously by the provincial legislature on January 1, 1929, and is probably one of his least-known legacies to Saskatchewan public policy.

After deputy ministers stymied a delegation from Canada's Anabaptist peace churches, they approached Gardiner directly, where they got a much warmer reception; as Gardiner was a member of the United Church of Canada, which is also theologically committed to global peace.

In 2006, the CBC agreed to pull the movie Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story from all broadcasts in response to criticism about its portrayals of Gardiner.

Although Gardiner and the Liberals won pluralities in the popular vote and seats in the Assembly, they did not hold a majority.

Gardiner chose to face the Assembly in hopes of obtaining sufficient support from some of the opposition members to maintain his government, but he lost a vote on a confidence matter and resigned.

He was replaced as premier by James Anderson, whose Conservative Party held the second-greatest number of seats.

The Liberals won a substantial majority government, taking fifty of the fifty-five seats in the Legislative Assembly.

[9] The by-election was called on the resignation of the sitting Conservative member, John Archibald McDonald, who admitted to "corrupt practices" by his agent in the 1912 general election.

The by-election was called on Gardiner accepting the position of Minister of Highways in the Cabinet of Premier Dunning, an office of profit under the Crown, on April 5, 1922.

By-election called after the sitting Liberal MP, Robert McKenzie, accepted an office of profit under the Crown on December 9, 1935.