Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is attending his last cabinet and caucus meetings today before leaving politics next week.
Wall has 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, says he recognizes there is more work to do including current contract negotiations with teachers and continuing efforts to reduce the deficit.
READ MORE: Emotions flow at legislature as Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall bids farewell
But he says 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.”
Wall, who announced his intentions to leave last August, invited the media into his office, now empty, one more time.
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When asked what he’s going to miss the most as premier, he said the answer is simple.
“The people of Saskatchewan. I got to meet people all over this province (who I) won’t be meeting in the future.”
READ MORE: Premier Brad Wall resigns as leader of Sask. Party
Work still to be done
While Wall’s time in politics is quickly coming to an end, there is still work to do. School board budgets were front of mind during Wednesday’s cabinet meeting. In last year’s provincial budget school boards saw a collective $55 million cut.
“The finances for the province are on track. We’re in a reasonably good spot for hitting our goal, so that speaks well in getting back to balance. Perhaps now it’s time for some interim support in the education sector,” Wall said.
The premier noted that this support may be financial.
Saskatchewan School Board Association president Shawn Davidson said that would be welcome help, but the SSBA focus is on the 2018/19 budget. Earlier this week the SSBA put out a media release that said restored funding for education is critical. The SSBA said that without an increase in funding the province’s 28 school divisions will have no choice but to make further cuts.
“If that’s not acknowledged in this budget, and there’s not an acknowledgement of population growth in our students, then it has to mean cuts for everyone,” Davidson said.
Final funding decisions for Saskatchewan’s school divisions will not be known until the provincial budget is released in March.
A lasting legacy
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.
He 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.
With files from David Baxter
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