Sask. Party still in 'fairly comfortable position,' but 4 cabinet ministers leaving 'a blow': experts
Alexander Quon | CBC News | Posted: February 8, 2024 10:00 AM | Last Updated: February 8
10 current government MLAs not seeking re-election
The decision by four sitting cabinet ministers to announce they would not run in the upcoming provincial election is not a sign that the Saskatchewan Party is in any danger, according to some experts.
Daniel Westlake, an assistant professor of politics at the University of Saskatchewan, said the Saskatchewan Party remains in a "fairly comfortable position."
"This doesn't look to me like a case where MLA or cabinet ministers are leaving a party that's in trouble, and suggests to me that this may be a case where the individuals just saw there wasn't much more they could do in government and perhaps wanted to move on to other things," Westlake said.
Tom McIntosh, a professor of politics and international studies at the University of Regina, said in a separate interview the decision to announce all four cabinet ministers leaving on the same day was "striking."
He said they bring a lot of experience and they're likely influential voices in caucus.
"I think the fact that they've all chosen to leave is, in the first instance, a blow to the government at a point when, at least in urban Saskatchewan, it appears, if the polls are to be believed, that the government is at risk of losing a number of seats in the two larger cities," McIntosh said.
Four ministers not re-offering
On Tuesday, Minister of Crown Investments Corp. Dustin Duncan (Weyburn-Big Muddy), Minister of Government Relations Don McMorris (Indian Head-Milestone), Minister of Advanced Education Gordon Wyant (Saskatoon Northwest) and deputy premier and Minister of Finance Donna Harpauer (Humboldt-Watrous) announced they would not be running again.
Each of them spoke with media Wednesday about their respective time in office.
WATCH| Outgoing Sask. Party cabinet ministers discuss decisions to leave
McMorris and Harpauer were first elected in 1999. Harpauer said her decision to not seek re-election is about time.
"I actually considered that at the last election and chose to do four more years, but at the end of this term, it'll be 25 years. So that's considered a very long political life and I'm not getting younger," she said.
Duncan was first elected in 2006 at the age of 26.
Just like many of the other cabinet ministers, he said the decision was about time.
"You know I turned 45 this summer and I've been doing this for 40 per cent of my life. I've had the great privilege of sitting around that table for a third of my entire life. It's been a great privilege and a pleasure and an honour," he said.
Wyant doesn't rule out Saskatoon mayoral run
Wyant confirmed he's heard the speculation about him potentially running for mayor of Saskatoon.
"You know, it's really flattering. It's humbling that there are people in the city of Saskatoon that think I can do that."
Last month, current Mayor Charlie Clark announced he wouldn't be seeking re-election this year, having served in the role since 2016.
On Wednesday, Wyant would not state definitively whether he was going to join the race to replace Clark.
"Today my responsibility is the minister of advanced education. I have some significant responsibilities to the government," he said.
"We're certainly giving some consideration to that and some discussions with my wife. I understand there's a a job, but I'm not applying for it. Not yet."
The bigger picture
The decision by the four cabinet ministers this week means 10 sitting Saskatchewan party MLAs have confirmed they are not going to seek re-election.
The other six are:
- Don Morgan (Saskatoon Southeast).
- Dana Skoropad (Arm River).
- Delbert Kirsch (Batoche).
- Fred Bradshaw (Carrot River Valley).
- Greg Ottenbreit (Yorkton).
- Ken Francis (Kindersley).
On a larger scale, At least 18 of the Saskatchewan Party MLAs elected in 2020 -- 38 per cent of the 48 seat caucus -- will not be back on the ballot.
That's not necessarily a problem, according to Westlake.
"It may just be kind of what comes naturally when you've been in government for this long," he said.
Two former Saskatchewan Party MLAs will sit as independents when the legislature returns after facing criminal charges.
Greg Lawrence (Moose Jaw Wakamow) announced last month that he would not run in the next election. He resigned as a member of the Saskatchewan Party shortly before he was charged with assault and assault by choking.
Ryan Domotor (Cut Knife-Turtleford) was removed from the Saskatchewan Party caucus after being charged with communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services in November 2023.
That charge was stayed after Domotor completed a prostitution offender intervention program.
Rounding out the changing faces are Terry Dennis (Canora-Pelly) and Randy Weekes (Biggar-Sask Valley) who lost their respective 2024 nomination contests.
Mark Docherty (Regina Coronation Park) resigned in Feb. 2023, Lyle Stewart (Lumsden-Morse) stepped down for health reasons in March 2023 and Derek Myers (Regina Walsh Acres) died from cancer in March 2023.
The trio of by-elections saw Blaine McLeod (Lumsden-Morse) retain a seat for the Saskatchewan Party while Noor Burki (Regina Coronation Park) and Jared Clarke (Regina Walsh Acres) won for the NDP.
Nadine Wilson (Saskatchewan Rivers) was ousted from the Saskatchewan Party and now serves as the Leader of the Saskatchewan United Party.