REGINA — Members of the Opposition Saskatchewan Party have signed off on a series of new policy ideas that they hope will be a foundation for victory in the next election.

The new ideas were pitched as a way for the right-of-centre party to fill gaps in its old policy - especially on the social side - and appeal to a broader cross-section of voters.

In all, 141 of 145 resolutions up for discussion at this weekend's policy convention were approved by delegates. All but one of those approvals came behind closed doors, with no public debate by members.

Out were issues such as boot camps for young offenders and work-for-welfare. In their place are calls for hikes to the social assistance food allowance.

Saskatchewan Party leader Brad Wall was quick to call the convention a success, saying the new policies would provide the basis for the party to govern.

"If, for whatever reason, there is an election called in the very short term or an election is forced in the very short term, what you have given us is more than enough to campaign on," Wall told delegates as he closed the convention.

"The next election is very, very important."

While speaking with reporters afterward, Wall denied that the policies were written up from the top down and passed without much dissent.

"This process was driven by what the party was hearing and the advice that we sought. We got that advice and we made the decisions that we made and the delegates today have unanimously endorsed a package that I'm pretty proud of," Wall said.

Formed out of an alliance of disgruntled Liberals and vanquished Tories back in 1997, the Saskatchewan Party is relatively new on the political scene, but its rise to prominence has been quick.

The party forced the NDP into a minority government situation in 1999 and was widely expected to win the election in 2003.

But it struggled during the campaign, especially when it came to pragmatic issues such as the privatization of the province's Crown utilities.

The party won 28 seats to the NDP's 30 and had to come to grips with spending another term in opposition.

One of the resolutions passed at the convention specifically mentions that the ownership of the major Crown corporations should remain in public hands.

The four resolutions defeated dealt with: The division of funding for education; a provincial DNA data bank for criminals; a requirement for judges to clearly state minimum sentences; and tax credits for healthy lifestyles.