Premier retiring after 10-year run
REGINA (CP) — One of Canada’s most high-profile premiers who rose to national prominence for his down-to-earth style, sharp wit and, more recently, his willingness to lock horns with Ottawa is retiring from politics after a decade in office.
Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall, who is 51, said he made the decision at the end of June after talking it over with his wife Tami.
“I think renewal will be good for the province. I think renewal and a different perspective will be good for the government. I think renewal will be good for my party as well,” he said Thursday.
“Whatever I do after this — and I currently have no leads or prospects — this job will be the honour of my working life.”
Wall said he will stay on as premier and Swift Current member of the legislature until his successor is chosen in a leadership race.
Wall and his Saskatchewan Party have won three consecutive provincial elections, taking more than half of the popular vote each time. The party, which formed 20 years ago out of an alliance of disaffected Tories and Liberals, swept 51 of 61 seats in 2016.
Wall routinely places high in opinion polls ranking the country’s most popular premiers and his knack for the zinger soundbite has made him a national political figure.
“I hesitate to use the term cult of personality, but certainly when you think of the Sask. Party today, you automatically go to Mr. Wall,” said University of Saskatchewan political scientist Charles Smith. “He is the face of the party.” Wall has faced headwinds at home in recent months, especially after this spring’s austerity budget.
With a bottom line battered by low resource prices, the budget cut library and education funding, as well as grants to municipalities, although cash for libraries was later restored.
It raised the provincial sales tax and added it to things that were previously exempt, such as children’s clothing and restaurant meals. The government also shut down the provincial bus company to help tackle a $1.3billion deficit.
In May, a Mainstreet Research poll suggested Wall’s party had dropped steeply in voter support and had fallen nine points behind the leaderless Opposition New Democrats. But in June, an Angus Reid poll had the Saskatchewan Party up by seven points across the province.
Potential leadership candidates include Energy and Resources Minister Dustin Duncan, Finance Minister Kevin Doherty and Tim McMillan — a former Saskatchewan cabinet minister who now leads the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.