REGINA – Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says he won’t be part of the race to replace Stephen Harper as leader of the Conservative Party.
The highly popular, right-leaning premier is often rumoured to have be courted by the federal Tories, but Wall made it clear: he’s not interested.
“The answer is no,” Wall said at the legislature Tuesday morning. “I think I have the best political job in Canada, I’m grateful to have this job.”
Wall called the suggestion humbling, but says he’s going to “try and renew the contract in the few months,” referring to the provincial election scheduled for April 4, 2016.
“There’s a lot more to be done in terms of infrastructure and making sure growth is sustainable. Those are my priorities going forward, not any federal politics.”
In the past, the premier has also pointed to his inability to speak French as a barrier to a leadership challenge.
The comments came as part of reaction to results of the federal election, which saw Justin Trudeau’s Liberals capture a majority government.
Wall says he isn’t disappointed Trudeau will be prime minister and will work with him on various issues that impact the province, encouraging progress on the new Trans-Pacific Partnership.
He did suggest Trudeau’s commitment to meet with Canada’s premiers as a whole – which Harper hadn’t since 2009 – isn’t necessary in his mind.
“If we’re going to gather and there’s a point to the meeting, then absolutely … but if they’re meetings for the sake of meetings, then I’d rather continue with a bilateral relationship.”
Last week, Wall told reporters federal NDP policies are bad for Saskatchewan and he would be supporting the Conservative candidate in his home riding.
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