No clear front-runner for Sask. Party as Wall resigns
Brad Wall’s announcement that he plans to step down as premier of Saskatchewan signals one of the largest changes in provincial politics in a decade largely defined by one of the winningest politicians in Canada’s recent history.
Joe Garcea, a professor of political science at the University of Saskatchewan, said he wasn’t entirely surprised when he saw Wall announce his impending retirement Thursday morning via a video posted to Facebook and Twitter.
“The reason I was expecting it is that I could see the premier tired and frustrated on television and in pictures in the newspapers,” Garcea said.
While the Sask. Party garnered more than 60 per cent of the popular vote in each of the last three provincial elections, both the party and Wall saw their popularity take hits amid an economic downturn followed by an austerity budget introduced in March 2017.