In Saskatchewan's first election in 1905, the Liberal Party, led by Walter Scott (who was installed by Wilfrid Laurier upon the creation of the province, displacing Frederick Haultain, the longtime elected Premier of the North-West Territories), was elected as the province's first government. It was not a smooth term of government for the provincial Liberals as reports of ballot-box stuffing, bribes, and gerrymandering resulted in much of the province's population not accepting or respecting Walter Scott as Premier. Many of the policies pushed by the Scott government were policies which promoted the direction that the federal Liberal government wanted to go in, which were not reflected in the wants and needs of the people of Saskatchewan. Furthermore, Frederick Haultain was quite an effective leader of the Opposition, and was seen still as the rightful leader of the province by many. By 1908, Walter Scott, experiencing falling public support and encountering troubles within his own caucus from his MLAs, who, facing steady public backlash, started considering going to Haultain's side, dissolved the legislature to call an election. With plenty of help from the federal Liberals, Walter Scott's Liberals managed to win government again but it was a close election.