Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall might still be a contender for the federal Conservative leadership
Brad Wall’s statements on national and international events in recent days have raised some eyebrows.
It is not unusual for a provincial premier to comment on national affairs, and in some instances, on matters of international trade for example. However, it is unusual for a provincial premier to cast his remarks in terms of what “Canadians” should do instead of in terms of what the people of Saskatchewan should do for example.
The premier started his current round a week ago by declaring that Canada should continue bombing in Syria instead of bringing Canada’s six fighter jets home, as pledged by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the election campaign. He followed that with a letter to the prime minister, and a large number of media interviews, criticizing the present government’s pledge to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees before the end of the year.
What has prompted these unusual comments? There are four possibilities.
First, the premier could be basing his comments on the provincial role in regard to these issues. However, there is no provincial role in the matter of whether or not Canada would continue to bomb in Syria. His comments on refugees might have been prompted by briefings from provincial or federal officials about the feasibility of achieving the objective of bringing in 25,000 refugees before the end of the year. However, the premier provided no indication that he had been briefed by federal officials, which the PM has promised to do later, and he did not present evidence from provincial officials about the feasibility of accepting our share of refugees in Saskatchewan.
A second reason might be that he simply wished to support the Conservative Party in its criticism of the Liberal approach to these two issues. Once again, however, while it is no secret that the Premier has been generally supportive of the Conservatives, he has been careful in the past to limit remarks to areas where there is some federal -provincial intersection. Again, it is unlikely that this is the motivation.
A third reason might be that he simply wishes to deflect attention from a number of provincial issues which have been plaguing the government this fall. These include the carbon capture problems, the bypass problems outside of Regina, health-care deficiencies, etc. Some more cynical columnists have suggested this is the real reason, but I think this is unlikely. He could have deflected this without commenting on national issues.
Fourth, and I think the more likely explanation, is that the premier continues to position himself for a possible run at the national Conservative leadership. Let me be clear. I believe the premier when he says that he is not considering such a run at this time. Nevertheless, it is possible that after the provincial election a “draft Wall” movement might take place. It would be hard for the premier to resist such a call. The trouble is of course, that one must win the provincial election, and win it handily, if one is to be a major player in this respect.
Therein is the problem. Positioning in this regard must be subtle enough to deflect any suggestion that he wishes to do anything except remain premier, while at the same time leaving the door open for the future.
It will be interesting to see how he handles himself on national issues in the future.
Howard Leeson was a Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in both the Blakeney and Romanow provincial administrations. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at the University of Regina.
source: Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall might still be a contender for the federal Conservative leadership | Regina Leader-Post
Brad Wall’s statements on national and international events in recent days have raised some eyebrows.
It is not unusual for a provincial premier to comment on national affairs, and in some instances, on matters of international trade for example. However, it is unusual for a provincial premier to cast his remarks in terms of what “Canadians” should do instead of in terms of what the people of Saskatchewan should do for example.
The premier started his current round a week ago by declaring that Canada should continue bombing in Syria instead of bringing Canada’s six fighter jets home, as pledged by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the election campaign. He followed that with a letter to the prime minister, and a large number of media interviews, criticizing the present government’s pledge to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees before the end of the year.
What has prompted these unusual comments? There are four possibilities.
First, the premier could be basing his comments on the provincial role in regard to these issues. However, there is no provincial role in the matter of whether or not Canada would continue to bomb in Syria. His comments on refugees might have been prompted by briefings from provincial or federal officials about the feasibility of achieving the objective of bringing in 25,000 refugees before the end of the year. However, the premier provided no indication that he had been briefed by federal officials, which the PM has promised to do later, and he did not present evidence from provincial officials about the feasibility of accepting our share of refugees in Saskatchewan.
A second reason might be that he simply wished to support the Conservative Party in its criticism of the Liberal approach to these two issues. Once again, however, while it is no secret that the Premier has been generally supportive of the Conservatives, he has been careful in the past to limit remarks to areas where there is some federal -provincial intersection. Again, it is unlikely that this is the motivation.
A third reason might be that he simply wishes to deflect attention from a number of provincial issues which have been plaguing the government this fall. These include the carbon capture problems, the bypass problems outside of Regina, health-care deficiencies, etc. Some more cynical columnists have suggested this is the real reason, but I think this is unlikely. He could have deflected this without commenting on national issues.
Fourth, and I think the more likely explanation, is that the premier continues to position himself for a possible run at the national Conservative leadership. Let me be clear. I believe the premier when he says that he is not considering such a run at this time. Nevertheless, it is possible that after the provincial election a “draft Wall” movement might take place. It would be hard for the premier to resist such a call. The trouble is of course, that one must win the provincial election, and win it handily, if one is to be a major player in this respect.
Therein is the problem. Positioning in this regard must be subtle enough to deflect any suggestion that he wishes to do anything except remain premier, while at the same time leaving the door open for the future.
It will be interesting to see how he handles himself on national issues in the future.
Howard Leeson was a Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in both the Blakeney and Romanow provincial administrations. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at the University of Regina.
source: Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall might still be a contender for the federal Conservative leadership | Regina Leader-Post
