Brad Wall

Bradley John Wall (born November 24, 1965) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 14th premier of Saskatchewan from November 21, 2007, until February 2, 2018.

He is the fourth longest-tenured premier in the province's history.

During the 1980s Wall began working as a political staffer, first in the office of Swift Current Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament Geoff Wilson in Ottawa.

There he helped to found the "Alliance for the Future of Young Canadians," a pro-free trade group.

Wall returned to Saskatchewan and worked as a ministerial assistant in the Progressive Conservative government of Grant Devine in Regina.

Wall worked for Graham Taylor, Minister of Public Participation, Tourism, Small Business, Co-operatives and Health, and for John Gerich, Associate Minister of Economic Development.

For most of the 1990s Wall's attention shifted away from politics to working in business in Swift Current.

The Devine government was swept from power in 1991 under the specter of provincial bankruptcy and a growing expense scandal, which in the wake of the election turned into a massive fraud scandal.

The subsequent investigation led to the conviction of 14 MLAs who served in the Devine government, 6 of whom received jail time, including Gerich, who was sentenced to two years.

Wall described the downfall of the Progressive Conservatives as "disheartening" and the fallout, including the prison sentences, as "powerful lessons."

In 1991, Wall became the director of business development for the City of Swift Current, a role for which he eventually won an "Economic Developer of the Year" award.

At the time Wall also ran a consulting business, through which he attempted to move the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame from Kitchener, Ontario, to Swift Current; this effort failed and the museum ultimately moved to Calgary.

Wall also launched a short-lived tourism business called the Last Stand Adventure Company that centered upon a "Western ranch experience."

Wall sat on a number of boards including being a founding member of the Southwest Centre for Entrepreneurial Development.

Wall's first personal foray into provincial politics was in 1991 when he unsuccessfully sought the Progressive Conservative nomination for Swift Current.

Despite missing out on the nomination, he still worked on the party's unsuccessful re-election campaign.

Working in the private sector at the time, Wall has been credited with playing a backroom role in the creation of the Saskatchewan Party in 1997.

The party formed as a coalition of sitting Progressive Conservative and Liberal Party MLAs and members, and was intended to unify opposition to the NDP.

Wall was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as the Member for Swift Current in 1999, and he was re-elected four times, in 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2016.

After nearly a decade outside of electoral politics, Wall won the Saskatchewan Party nomination for Swift Current ahead of the 1999 election, the first since the Saskatchewan Party was formed, and he was elected MLA.

He defeated NDP incumbent John Wall (no relation) with more than 50% of the vote as part of a wave of rural victories that saw the Saskatchewan Party win 25 seats and the NDP reduced to a minority government.

Wall was appointed to the Saskatchewan Party's front bench as Justice Critic, and later as Critic for Crown Corporations as well.

After the election Wall also chaired a committee examining how to increase urban support for the party.

The Progressive Conservatives have in fact not won a seat in any election since the formation of the Saskatchewan Party, and neither have the Liberals since winning 4 seats in 2003; as such, the emergence of the Saskatchewan Party has effectively created a two-party system in Saskatchewan politics.

Inaugural Saskatchewan Party leader Elwin Hermanson resigned after the NDP regained a narrow majority in the 2003 provincial election.

He became leader of the Official Opposition Saskatchewan Party on July 15, 2004, replacing Elwin Hermanson, and he led the party to a majority government in the 2007 election.

Wall announced his candidacy for the leadership and was ultimately acclaimed the party's new leader on March 15, 2004.

In the 2011 election, Wall's government won the largest vote share in Saskatchewan's history with 64% of the popular vote and 49 of the 58 seats in the legislature.

Commodity price crashes beginning in 2014 strained the province's finances, and Wall's popularity waned, particularly after introducing a severe austerity budget in 2017.

The 2016 election delivered Wall another majority, marking the first time since 1925 that a party other than the New Democratic Party or its predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, had won three consecutive majority mandates.

For much of his tenure Wall polled as the most popular premier in Canada, and he is credited with raising Saskatchewan's profile on the national stage.

Taking office during a period of growth catalyzed by rising global commodity prices, Wall's government focused on attracting investment and championing the province's resource-based industries.

The government was persistently criticized for its privatization agenda, its disputes with organized labor, and its environmental stances.

Wall announced his intention to retire as Saskatchewan Party Leader, Premier, and MLA for Swift Current on August 10, 2017.

Wall was succeeded as Premier by Scott Moe on February 2, 2018.

Wall was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, the son of Alice (née Schmidt) and John Wall, Mennonites with Eastern European roots.

John owned a local trucking company.

Wall demonstrated an early interest in politics, citing time spent playing a Fraser Institute-funded economics board game called Poleconomy as an early influence.

He also had a significant interest in music and hosted a rock show on a local radio station.

Wall attended the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, running for student council and graduating with an honours degree in Public Administration and an advanced certificate in Political Studies.