Instituted in 1985 by Lieutenant Governor Frederick Johnson,[1] on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Grant Devine, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour current or former Saskatchewan residents for conspicuous achievements in any field,[2] being thus described in law as the highest honour amongst all others conferred by the Saskatchewan Crown.

[1] After the annual call for nominations,[1] the Saskatchewan Honours Advisory Council makes its recommendations to the lieutenant governor.

Posthumous nominations are accepted within one year of the date of death, and in 2001 the Provincial Emblems and Honours Act was amended to allow for honorary membership in the order,[4] granted to those who are neither current nor former residents of Saskatchewan; Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, was the first honorary member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, appointed on 24 April 2001.

[9] This medallion is hung from a ribbon with a green-gold-green, vertical striped pattern, at the collar for men, and on a bow pinned at the left chest for women.

Members also receive for wear on informal clothing a lapel pin in the form of a stylized western red lily bearing St. Edward's Crown.