46 Facts About Brad Wall

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

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

Brad Wall 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brad Wall had a significant interest in music and hosted a rock show on a local radio station.

Brad 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.

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

Brad 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.

In 1991, Brad 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 Brad Wall 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.

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

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

Brad Wall committed to a review of Saskatchewan Party policies, aiming to present a more moderate platform that could expand the party's support beyond rural areas.

Brad Wall made economic issues the party's focal point and while in Opposition he released policy papers including "The Promise of Saskatchewan: A New Vision for Saskatchewan's Economy," in 2004, and "Getting Saskatchewan Back on Track: Addressing Saskatchewan's Labour Shortage," in 2006.

Brad Wall introduced a Code of Ethics for party members and made a public commitment not to privatize or wind down the province's crown corporations.

Brad Wall's profile grew to the extent that he was considered synonymous with the party he led.

However, Brad Wall's popularity began to wane during this third term, particularly after introducing an austerity budget in 2017.

Brad Wall instituted widespread tax cuts and guided investments in health care, education, and infrastructure.

In 2010, Brad Wall rose to national prominence through his opposition to an attempted hostile takeover of Saskatoon-based PotashCorp, which was the world's largest potash producer, by Australian mining giant BHP.

The federal government ultimately blocked the deal, and Brad Wall was lauded for his lobbying efforts.

Brad Wall persistently championed the province's fossil fuel industries as well.

In 2014 Brad Wall was vocal in lobbying the federal government to strengthen its regulation of the oil industry, arguing that stronger measures would aid pipeline development.

Brad Wall was particularly vehement in his opposition to a federal carbon tax, an issue Brad Wall helped to put at the center of conservative political agendas across the country and at the national level.

Brad Wall took aim at civil society calls for climate action, for example lambasting the Leap Manifesto and calling it an "existential threat" to the oil industry.

The Brad Wall government faced criticism for its costly application of the Lean program to the healthcare system.

In 2013, Brad Wall attended the Bilderberg Conference, an annual private conference of approximately 120 to 140 invited political guests from North America and Europe.

In 2015 Brad Wall wrote a letter to Trudeau urging him to suspend the federal government's plan to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees before the end of that year.

Brad Wall would go on to consistently target Trudeau over the federal carbon tax, laying the groundwork for the province to launch a constitutional challenge against the measure in April 2018.

Brad Wall was critical of Notley's efforts to strengthen national efforts to address climate change, and by 2017 Saskatchewan and Alberta were engaging in a series of trade disputes that began when Brad Wall publicly attempted to lure energy companies to move their headquarters from Calgary to Saskatchewan.

On May 1,2018, Brad Wall announced he would begin working as an advisor for the Calgary law firm Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP.

Brad Wall remained active in political circles even after retiring from electoral politics.

Brad Wall was considered a strong candidate for leadership of the federal Conservative Party, but he declined to run in the party's 2020 leadership contest.

Brad Wall did play a central role in the creation of the Buffalo Project, an American-style political action committee aiming to influence federal politics, in Alberta.

Brad Wall was influential in laying the groundwork for the project, including raising funds, and although he did not take on a formal role with the group he was a key advisor.

Brad Wall admitted to the media of his partaking in the alcohol and knowing it was "wrong" and stated he considered it "an asset" to have learned from the government's activities.

The video showed Conservative MP and former Saskatchewan Party staffer Tom Lukiwski making homophobic remarks and Brad Wall using an exaggerated Ukrainian accent and making derogatory statements about then-NDP leader Roy Romanow; Brad Wall apologized for his remarks.

In 2017, Brad Wall addressed a room of Saskatchewan Party members at a nomination meeting, where he recited a joke about the execution of Metis leader Louis Riel.

In 2022, court records revealed that Brad Wall gave advice to Chris Barber as he helped to organize the convoy protest that went on to occupy downtown Ottawa that year.

Brad Wall is an avid football fan, supporting both the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League and the National Football League's Las Vegas Raiders.

Brad Wall is a classic car enthusiast and owns a Cadillac that was once owned by Waylon Jennings.

Brad Wall was made a member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2024.