Complex sentence: Haultain had been Premier of the North-West Territories prior to the province's creation and hoped to lead a government in the place of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party which was backed by the federal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.
Split into simpler sentences: Haultain had been Premier of the North-West Territories prior to the province's creation. He hoped to lead a government in the place of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party, which was backed by the federal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.