So, how did your summer go?
What is normally a quiet time in Saskatchewan politics received a major jolt earlier this month with the announcement on Facebook by Premier Brad Wall that he is departing politics.
The announcement marks the impending end of an era in Saskatchewan and the beginning of a new one, with the installation of a new Sask Party leader and premier in the new year.
Details of how the race would play out over the next several months were revealed following a weekend meeting of the party’s provincial council. They announced a new leader would be chosen at a leadership convention in Saskatoon on Jan. 27, 2018.
The leader will be voted on by Sask. Party members in a one-member, one-vote system. A deadline of Dec. 8 has been set for membership sales.
For candidates, the nomination filing deadline for candidates is Nov. 24, and a filing fee of $25,000 is required. There is a campaign expense limit of $250,000 and all donors who made donations of $250 or more will need to be disclosed.
As well, Patrick Bundrock will take on duties as Electoral Officer for the leadership election, a role he will serve alongside his current position as executive director of the Saskatchewan Party.
“The next few months are going to be busy for the Saskatchewan Party, but they will be historic months,” said Bundrock in a news release. “I look forward to the challenge of leading the party and leadership election organizing committee by running a smooth election process.”
“Anyone who supports the Saskatchewan Party and wants to be part of selecting our next Leader and Premier of Saskatchewan should purchase a Saskatchewan Party membership, which entitles you to vote.”
The previous days saw ramped-up speculation from party members and from political watchers as to who might be in or out of the leadership race.
Two big names from the cabinet quickly ruled themselves out of the running. Deputy Premier Don Morgan and Minister of Energy and Resources Dustin Duncan have both announced they would not be joining the leadership race.
Jim Reiter, MLA for Rosetown-Elrose and Minister of Health, had been expected to run but he, too, decided not to enter the race, citing family reasons.
But there was no shortage of interest from other contenders, and it did not take long for them to start declaring their intentions.
The first out of the gate was Tina Beaudry-Mellor, the first-term MLA for Regina University. Previously a political science instructor at the University of Regina, she has served as minister of social services in the Wall cabinet.
If elected, Beaudry-Mellor would be the first female premier in the province’s history.
Soon after came the announcement by Jeremy Harrison on Aug. 19 that he, too, would join the race. Harrison, MLA for Meadow Lake and currently minister of the economy, also has experience from federal politics as a former Member of Parliament.
He has already made clear his campaign will be taking aim at one particular federal policy: the carbon tax.
“I will fight a federally imposed carbon tax with every fibre of my being and with every tool at our province’s disposal,” Harrison said in a statement.
“A massive new federal carbon tax will have a devastating impact on our economy. And make no mistake, this is a revenue measure, a way to get money out of your pocket and into the hands of federal politicians and bureaucrats. It will do little to nothing to reduce emissions. As Premier, I will fight Ottawa’s carbon tax with everything we have.”
Harrison made more news Thursday when he put forth a ten-point ethics plan, as well as his proposal for the government to divest itself of the Global Transportation Hub. He made the announcement at what turned into a heated news conference at the legislature, with Harrison repeatedly hammered by reporters on the GTH scandal. While Harrison made the biggest headlines during the early days of the race, it was obvious he also had big baggage to deal with as well.
Among the other names running are Gord Wyant, MLA for Saskatoon Northwest and minister of Justice and Attorney General; and Ken Cheveldayoff, MLA for Saskatoon Willowgrove who has served as Minister of Parks, Culture, Sport and Minister responsible for the Public Service Commission.
Last week, it was reported that Cheveldayoff would officially launch his leadership bid as of Monday. Wyant, meanwhile, was set to launch his bid in Saskatoon on Friday morning.
There is speculation provincial minister of finance Kevin Doherty might also join the leadership race. Reports are that Doherty will not be announcing his final decision on running until after he presents his budget update, which was released on Friday.
There has been speculation there might be candidates joining the race from outside cabinet. One name being mentioned is Alanna Koch, whose experience has primarily been in the civil service ranks. Koch is currently deputy minister to Premier Brad Wall and previously served as deputy minister in agriculture.
The other name that has been mentioned is Brad Trost, the socially-conservative federal MP for Saskatoon-University who most recently came off a fourth-place finish in the race for the federal Conservative leadership. When asked by the media over a week ago if he was interested in running for the Sask Party leadership, Trost said he was not ruling it out.
While there is plenty of time for candidates to decide to run, with a late-November deadline, for all practical purposes it is expected they will need to make their intentions known within the next several days. This is especially true for those in caucus: Premier Brad Wall has publicly indicated that candidates from cabinet have to indicate by Aug. 28 whether they will be running, in order to step aside from those roles during the campaign.
What is notable about the provincial political situation at the moment is that the provincial Saskatchewan Party is not the only one with a leadership race going on.
The provincial New Democrats also are in the midst of a battle for the top job, with MLAs Ryan Meili and Trent Wotherspoon both declaring their intentions to seek the leadership.
Meili had previously run twice for the NDP leadership, coming second both times. Wotherspoon also ran in the 2013 race that was won by Cam Broten.
Following Broten’s defeat in the 2016 election, Wotherspoon took over as leader of the Opposition in what was supposed to be an interim appointment until a permanent leader was chosen. At the time, Wotherspoon said he would not be running for the full-time leadership job.
But Wotherspoon had a change of heart. He stepped down from his “interim” role in June to consider a run for the permanent job of NDP leader.
First-term Regina Douglas Park MLA Nicole Sarauer took over as Opposition leader soon after. Wotherspoon finally confirmed Aug. 16 that he was indeed joining the NDP race.
There is still plenty of time for other candidates to join the race. The new NDP leader will not be in place until May of 2018, which means the Saskatchewan Party will be getting an over three-month head start over the NDP in selecting a leader.
There have been some other high-profile departures over the summer. One of them was Jennifer Campeau, who resigned her seat in Saskatoon Fairview to take a job in British Columbia with Rio Tinto.
A provincial byelection has been called for Sept. 7, and candidates include Cameron Scott of the Sask Party, Vicki Mowat of the NDP, Shah Rukh of the Liberals, Taylor Bolin of the Greens and David Prokopchuk of the PCs.
The other big news from the summer was the departure of longtime Kindersley MLA Bill Boyd.
One of eight MLAs to form the initial caucus for the Sask Party in 1997, Boyd has spent the last several months dogged by opposition attacks over his role in Global Transportation Hub land deals while serving as minister of the economy. A date for the Kindersley by-election has not been set as of yet.
