How will Sask.’s new premier Scott Moe measure up to Brad Wall on national stage?

For the first time since November of 2007, Brad Wall is not the premier of Saskatchewan.

It’s no secret Scott Moe‘s predecessor was Saskatchewan’s biggest cheerleader, touting business and trade with the province and often drawing national attention.

“Certainly Saskatchewan punched way above its weight,” said Greg Poelzer, a political scientist at the University of Saskatechewan. “We’re three per cent of the population, but we weren’t three per cent of the national stage with Brad Wall.”

Now that Moe is officially Saskatchewan’s 15th premier, residents and businesses alike are looking to the future with cautious optimism.

“I think right now we’re in a period of some uncertainty,” said Darla Lindbjerg, CEO of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce. “People are going to be poised and waiting to see what moves he’s going to make and how things are going to look in the next two years.”

The group credits Wall and his advocacy for industry in Saskatchewan for much of the province’s success over his 10-year tenure.

“He promoted trade — that was a big policy initiative of his both inter-provincially as well as international,” Lindbjerg said. “So we’re hoping to see that continue going forward.”

However, it was Wall’s clashes with the prime minister on policy, such as over carbon pricing, that drew most of the national spotlight.

“Some of the attacks on the prime minister by our former premier had a bit of a personal edge to them,” Poelzer said. “I think you’ll see less of that with Scott Moe.”

Instead, Poelzer predicts less forcefulness from the province’s new premier on the national stage — he believes Moe will draw attention toward the province for collaboration rather than confrontation when it comes to natural resources and Indigenous issues.

“I think Scott Moe is going to prove to be a very effective premier,” Poelzer said. “I think you’re going to see some more space open up for cooperation between Saskatchewan and the federal government that we really haven’t seen over the last couple of years.”

But the Saskatchewan Party plans to get the province familiar with the new premier first — a plan that was in place no matter who won the leadership vote.

Moe was officially sworn in along with 18 members of his new cabinet at a ceremony at Government House in Regina on Friday.