(Canadian Press)

By Lisa Schick and Alex Brown, CKOM News Staff

meeting the party leaders

Meet Scott Moe: The Saskatchewan Party leader vying for reelection

Oct 23, 2024 | 10:30 AM

SHELLBROOK, SK – Over a cup of black coffee at his hometown rink, about 140 kilometers north of Saskatoon, 650 CKOM sat down with Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe to delve into the man who has served as premier since 2018.

Scott reflected on the personal significance of the rink, where he once honed his slapshot and later coached his children.

From his adventurous move to Yellowknife after high school to balancing family life with politics, he shared insights into his leadership journey and the challenges that lie ahead.

READ: Q&A with Sask. Party Leader Scott Moe

Why did you want to do this interview at the Shellbrook rink?

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Well, this is a place where I spent a lot of time growing up. I’ve spent a lot of time here as a parent. I think back to my time growing up. It was one of the places where I first became part of a team, which is very relevant to what I do today.

It’s also the place where I was introduced to the community, teammates, their parents, other people that were in the rink. And then I became a parent and a coach, and one of the people in the stands being introduced to new kids. And so this is a gathering place.

Did you ever curl?

I was a weaker curler than I was a hockey player, and that isn’t saying very much.

What position do you play?

Defence. Simply because I couldn’t skate fast enough to play forward.

I hear you had a good shot.

I did have a slapshot. It took me a week and a Sunday to wind up to get it away, but we had one.

Scott Moe says the rink in Shellbrook is a community gathering place where he first became part of a team, which he says is relevant to his role in politics today. (Screen shot from 650 CKOM video)

What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve done in your life?

Shortly upon graduating high school, you know, 30-some years ago, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity here in this province. And I had a friend come and say, ‘Hey, do you want to go to Yellowknife?’ And I said, ‘What are we going to do there?’ He said, ‘We’ll go up there and see if we can get a job.’ I said, ‘Sure.’

Next thing I know, we jumped on a plane and left, like within a week. Pretty adventurous for an 18-year-old.

I learned very quickly that building houses outside in a Yellowknife, Northwest Territories winter made the College of Agriculture look fairly good. And so that’s where I spent my second winter and was married shortly after.

That would be among the most adventurous things I’ve done, maybe second only to running for leader of the Saskatchewan Party.

If you weren’t a politician right now, what do you think you’d be doing?

Something in business, because that’s what I was doing before. I don’t really think about what I’ll do after. I really do focus on the people I work with and the people we serve collectively. And I think that’s important coming into an election campaign.

If you win as Premier, this next term will bring you to ten years in the role. Is that going to be it for you?

When you run in an election, you commit to the next four-year increment, and you’ll figure out what happens as that comes to a close, either on your own or sometimes the voters will figure it out for you as well.

And that’s the beauty of the democracy that we have. And so, my commitment is to put forward the best value proposition in this election. Which is who is best to continue with a strong economy and a bright future for Saskatchewan residents that are here today and coming tomorrow.

Are you excited for the campaign or do you have your game-face on?

Yes, both. We’re very focused, realizing what we need to do to get in front of Saskatchewan people. Talk and listen to Saskatchewan people. It involves all sorts of different methods that you see various political parties doing. We’re no different in that respect.

But second to that, I am excited. There’s no doubt this is going to be a challenging election. They all are. And this one will be as well. But I’m very excited. I’m excited in what I’m hearing from Saskatchewan people. Excited in the competitiveness that election race brings. And, as I said, this is the fun part.

What are three words to describe living in Saskatchewan?

Awesome would be the first. Rewarding would be the second. Living here, you get out of it what you put into it. And it’s been very, very rewarding and fulfilling for me.

People here have just a remarkable amount of integrity, honesty, and the ability to appreciate one another. That’s special. I wouldn’t say unique, but it’s very, very special in light of what each of us as individuals have been through in the last four or five years.

It would have been over a century since we last had a pandemic, a global pandemic. And this generation came through that, and we didn’t come through without some scars and some challenges in our families, in our communities. I think it’s important for us to be understanding of one another, keep our relationships eyeball to eyeball, person to person, and this election campaign is a perfect opportunity to do that.

What’s one thing in your political life you’ve had to learn the hard way?

Many people would say that maybe a strength or weakness of mine is I’m stubborn. And when we react to, let’s say, a federal policy that is problematic or challenging for what we do and how we do things in Saskatchewan by the federal government, we’re pretty harsh with our response, and we stick to it. Whether that be carbon taxation or some of the environmental plans that they brought forward.

I’ve always known that you get the best decision points when you bring the people that you work with into a room, throw out all the end points that are options that you have, discuss it and pick the best one and move forward.

At times, we haven’t always had the time to do that, and we’ve made a decision with a smaller group, and it maybe hasn’t always been the right one, and it’s reminded me that you need to take the time to include everyone and have their input.

So, a reminder, having everyone impacted at the table to collaborate and consult and provide their input on whatever policy decision it is, you’ll get better decisions that way. And I know that, I just, I’ve been reminded a few times.

Moe says he starts his day with a cup of black coffee and reading the news. (Screen shot from 650 CKOM video)

In the movie of your life, who would you want to play you?

Jim Reiter, he would be a much nicer me. Jim is like the nicest guy I think I’ve ever met, and I think he could play a real good Scott Moe, because it would be a nicer me.

And I often read stories about some of the things that I’ve said or done, and I actually don’t think I’m that grumpy, grouchy, mean, or whatever it might be.

And so I’d have to say Jim Reiter, just because he’s so darn nice. And the first thing I would have him do in that movie is eat a banana, because he hates bananas, and it would be just great for him to eat a banana.

Can you explain the banana thing?

When you get the opportunity to talk to Jim Reiter, ask him a question about bananas. And so, if Jim Reiter was playing the movie, the part, the role of Scott Moe, he would have to learn how to skate better and shoot harder. But he would learn that, very quickly, I eat a lot of bananas, and so he would have to eat some bananas.

What do you do to unwind at the end of the day?

I try to get home every weekend, my wife and I still live in Shellbrook, and she works in Shellbrook. I get to spend some time with her, and we’re pretty good at blocking our time out together. And as corny as this sounds, often I’ll be gone for two or three or four or five days a week, as we just get to sit down and catch up. It’s probably one of the things I value most, without ever really verbalizing, and this might be the first time I verbalized it, but I was very fortunate at a young age to marry my best friend and and I really appreciate the time that we get together. Maybe it’s because we don’t have as much as we might like.

How old were you guys when you got married?

19 or 18-years-old. Met in high school. She’s been doing well to put up with me. She makes me a better person every day.

What music are you listening to on drives for your campaign?

I’m not too fussy on on the playlist, because I’ll listen to everything from AC/DC to Toby Keith and everything in between.

I’m kind of a Swiftie now, if you can believe that. I kind of admire the relationship, her and Travis Kelce are embarking on very public relationship and I can’t help but think that there’s all sorts of challenges in that and they just seem to plot along and have fun together.

Do you cook?

Poorly. Yeah, No, a little bit. I mean, I live on my own part of the week, so I had to figure it out. My cooking started with ice and toast, but we’ve moved into some other things like ribs. A little bit more breakfast. Bacon and eggs are not that difficult. So, it’s within my realm of capability.

How do you regain popularity, as it’s gone down in the past year?

The polls are what they are. It’s a little bit hyperbole, but the poll that matters is coming up on Oct. 28 and that is the one that’s going to matter. And so we’re aware of the polls, but I wouldn’t say we look at them closely.

If I have some work to do personally, I would keep it at a higher level, as opposed to issue by issue. I think there is a perception that it’s not entirely wrong, but when it comes time to react to things like federal intrusion in provincial areas of jurisdiction, federal intrusion that is harmful to Saskatchewan people, I am going to speak to that on behalf of Saskatchewan people.

And unfortunately, over the last number of years, I’ve had to build that jurisdictional wall around this province to essentially keep people like the Federal Minister of Environment Steven Guilbeault, Saskatchewan-born Minister Jonathan Wilkinson from harming the way that we’re creating wealth and creating and producing some of the most sustainable products on Earth and making them available to the world to provide energy security and food security.

And that’s unfortunate, and I don’t regret any of it. However, in doing so, you become fairly hard in your positions. If you look back to the leadership race, I would point you to again. I don’t view that as my strength. It’s maybe one of the things that I’m able to do is to be stubborn in defending the opportunities that we have in this province and and maybe even that I see in my community and beyond.

But what I see as the opportunity moving forward for myself as a leader of the Saskatchewan party, and should we have the confidence of the Saskatchewan people to move forward as a government, as one of collaboration. Actually working with either this federal government or the next on expanding on Saskatchewan opportunities and goodness are they great. Whether it be from an economic perspective or whether it be from engaging on all things, quality of life in our communities across the province.

I think the path forward is less about withstanding and arguing with the federal government, but the path forward is more around, where can we find some points of collaboration, and where can we actually help one another and thereby help our nation.

Is that going to rely on a new federal government?

It could, it wouldn’t necessarily have to, but it has been challenging with the existing crew.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.