DOHERTY RESIGNING
Quitting as MLA, plans to return to private sector
Saskatchewan’s former finance minister Kevin Doherty is resigning as an MLA.
First elected in Regina Northeast in 2011, Doherty was the province’s finance minister until this summer, when he was replaced and put in the smaller advanced education portfolio.
He was the finance minister last year when the province posted a $685-million deficit budget.
That was in March and Doherty faced months of intense criticism for the unpopular budget, which resulted in significant cuts to education, health and social services, as well as a plan for a smaller civil service.
When former premier Brad Wall announced his own retirement, many believed Doherty was a potential successor. Instead of running for that job, he took a step back — into the role of advanced education minister.
Sources close to Doherty say he was offered a position in Premier Scott Moe’s cabinet, announced last month, but that the Regina MLA declined the offer.
News of his resignation is not a surprise to many political watchers: It has long been suspected Doherty would step away from politics and return to the private sector — which he now plans to do.
Prior to being elected, Doherty served as the vice-president of corporate relations at SaskPower, the division director for Investors Group, director of government relations for Bayer Healthcare and manager of provincial relations for GlaxoWellcome.
The departure of Doherty is the latest in a series of exits by current Sask. Party MLAs. Corey Tochor (Saskatoon Eastview) and Warren Steinley (Regina Walsh Acres) will exit provincial politics if their attempts at entering the federal scene are successful.