1993 federal election Cheveldayoff's first run for political office came in the
1993 Canadian federal election as a member of the
Progressive Conservative Party in the riding of
The Battlefords—Meadow Lake. The incumbent,
Len Taylor of the
New Democratic Party, held the seat, with Cheveldayoff finishing fourth.
Saskatchewan Party MLA (2003–2017) Ten years after running federally, Cheveldayoff turned to provincial politics with the Saskatchewan Party, a new conservative party that had formed in 1997. First elected in November 2003, Cheveldayoff was the Opposition Critic for Finance, Deputy Critic for Learning, and served on a number of committees. Cheveldayoff was re-elected in the
2007 general election, after which the Saskatchewan Party formed government for the first time, and Cheveldayoff was named to
Cabinet by
Premier Brad Wall as Minister of Crown Corporations. In a 2009 cabinet shuffle, he became Minister of Enterprise, and in 2010, he was appointed Minister of First Nations and Métis relations. In 2012, Cheveldayoff was appointed Minister of Environment, Responsible for SaskWater and the Water Security Agency. In 2014, Cheveldayoff was dropped from cabinet but was appointed Government House Leader. In 2016, Cheveldayoff returned to cabinet when he was named Minister of Parks, Culture, Sport and Minister responsible for the Public Service Commission.
Sask Party leadership bid (2017–2018) Wall announced that he was retiring from politics on August 10, 2017. On August 23, Cheveldayoff confirmed that he would be resigning from cabinet in order to pursue the Saskatchewan Party leadership. On August 28, Cheveldayoff officially launched his leadership campaign. At his launch, Cheveldayoff stated that he would be willing to consider privatizing provincial crown corporations. The same month, Cheveldayoff received the endorsement of a national anti-abortion lobbying group, who rated him the most "pro-life" of all leadership candidates. Cheveldayoff said that he would support "anything that emphasizes that life begins at conception", and stated that not even rape victims should have legal access to abortion services. At the Saskatchewan Party
leadership convention, held on January 27, 2018, Cheveldayoff finished third; he was eliminated on the fourth ballot, having received 30% of votes. The contest was won by
Scott Moe.
Sask Party MLA (2018–present) Moe was sworn in as the
15th Premier of Saskatchewan on February 2, 2018. Moe named Cheveldayoff to his cabinet as Minister of Central Services and the minister responsible for the public service and provincial capital commission. After he was re-elected in the
2020 general election, Cheveldayoff was dropped from cabinet. The
2024 general election saw Cheveldayoff win his sixth consecutive term, making him the assembly’s current longest-serving member. Cheveldayoff was the only Saskatchewan Party candidate to win or retain a seat in either of the province's major urban centres, narrowly winning the Saskatoon Willowgrove seat over
New Democratic Party challenger Alana Wakula by a margin of 136 votes. After the election, Cheveldayoff returned to cabinet as Minister of Advanced Education. ==Personal life==