A Political Earthquake Has Struck Saskatchewan

   And it was a massive 9.0 on the political Richter scale. Saskatchewan Party leader, and Premier, Brad Wall took to Facebook live yesterday, and announced his retirement from politics.
   The move comes even though Mr. Wall and company still have 2 years left on their mandate. But it also comes amid slumping support due to a widely unpopular budget, and rumblings of possible sell-offs of government owned Crown Corporations, even though there are no deals on the horizon.
   By making the announcement half-way through the term, Wall has assured the party will have someone in place within the 2 year time-frame ahead of the next election. The opposition New Democratic Party are also going through the process of picking a new, permanent leader. So the political landscape is changing.
   Mr. Wall took over the SaskParty in 2004, and was first elected Premier in 2007. This November would have marked his 10th year in power. Under Wall, the SaskParty has been elected with increasing majorities every time we go to the polls.
   Will that change with his departure? Likely, it will. Although that depends an awful lot on who the party chooses to lead them, and who the NDP pick as well.
   As for his legacy: Politics aside, Mr. Wall was, and remains, passionate about the province, and fought very hard for the interests of Saskatchewan, whether it was the federal government, or boosting trade on the international scene.
   From a personal perspective (and without delving into the realm of politics) I found Mr. Wall an affable, approachable man.
   I had the extreme pleasure of having him as a guest several times on my talk show when I was in Regina. He was also our first guest during our provincial budget broadcasts, and Throne Speeches.

  
    When I departed Regina 4 years ago, and since as news director, I spoke almost daily with executive council, I mentioned that fact to staff. Somehow it got twisted into me retiring. A few days later, I received in our newsroom mail an envelope from the Premier's office, which included a letter congratulating me on my retirement. True, it was a "form" letter, but Wall did amend and personalize it for me. Needless to say, I returned it the very next day, with my deep appreciation. Like his politics or not, that shows the human side of him.
   Mr. Wall was, and is, a gentleman in every sense of the word. Thank you Brad for your years of service to the province, and smooth sailing in the future.

TTFN