By Canadian Press

Steps down Jan. 31: Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall attends last cabinet meeting

Jan 24, 2018 | 2:48 PM

REGINA — Retiring Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall attended his last cabinet and caucus meetings Wednesday and offered some examples beforehand of what he sees as the province’s accomplishments since he became its leader.

The Opposition NDP countered by saying not everything is positive right now and the province faces tough challenges.

Wall also submitted his resignation as legislature member for Swift Current effective next Wednesday.

A new leader of the governing Saskatchewan Party is to be chosen in Saskatoon on Saturday. There are five candidates and the winner is expected to be sworn in as premier next week.

Wall, who has been premier since 2007, said he recognizes there is more work to do, including current contract negotiations with teachers and continuing efforts to reduce the deficit.

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But he also said he is happy with the progress Saskatchewan has made in the last 10 years.

“There’s 160,000 more people in the province today,” he said. “There’s 60,000 more jobs. We have a triple-A credit rating notwithstanding four years of stubbornly low commodity prices.”

The NDP said people are paying the price for a decade of the Sask. Party mismanaging the economy.

“More and more Saskatchewan people are losing their jobs and over 50 per cent more Saskatchewan people felt compelled to leave our province in 2017 than did in 2007, when the Sask. Party were first elected,” the Opposition said in a release.

“While other provinces are growing their economy and creating more jobs, Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in two decades,” said jobs critic Vicki Mowat.

“For the first time in over 40 years, Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate is higher than the national average.”

Over the years, Wall became one of Canada’s most high-profile premiers. He rose to national prominence for his down-to-earth style, sharp wit and, more recently, his willingness to lock horns with Ottawa.

He has railed against opposition to pipeline projects and criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the federal government’s plan to force provinces to put a price on carbon. Saskatchewan’s carbon plan does not include a tax or price.

Wall, 52, routinely placed high in opinion polls ranking the country’s most popular premiers. But he faced head winds in recent months, especially after his government tabled an austerity budget last spring.

Wall was first elected as a member of the legislature in 1999 and made a successful bid for the top job after the party lost the 2003 election.

He would go on to lead the party to three consecutive victories, starting in 2007, and most recently in 2016 by winning 51 of 61 seats.

(CKRM, The Canadian Press)

The Canadian Press