John Diefenbaker, Lorne Calvert, and Ralph Goodale.

No, that isn’t the set-up to a partisan punch line.

Those three are former members of the Saskatchewan Youth Parliament (SYP).

The youth leadership organization focuses on parliamentary debate. Members are elected  to official positions and debate relevant issues.

Many changes have occurred in the organizations 100 years. Non-Christians and smokers at one time weren’t allowed to join, and it wasn’t until 1972 that women were accepted.

Muriel Garven joined SYP shortly after that. In 1977, she was elected as the first female premier of SYP.
She said it is important to have diversity in politics.

“We need to have women, ethnic diversity; we need a whole variety of different types of people that participate in making our laws,” said Garven.

SYP continues to engage youth by offering a platform for them to debate with peers.

Joseph Chiliak has been a member for about two years.

"I've learned how to have a broader perspective about a lot of political opinions because they're so many people in the organization that have such a wide variety of opinions," said Joseph Chiliak. 

Edited by CJME's David Fraser