Scott Moe
Scott Moe is a Canadian politician serving as the 15th and current premier of Saskatchewan since 2018. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the riding of Rosthern-Shellbrook. He served in the executive council of Brad Wall from 2014–2017, twice as Minister of Environment and as Minister of Advanced Education, after which he resigned to launch his campaign for the leadership of the Saskatchewan Party.
Early life
Moe was born in Prince Albert and raised on a farm near Shellbrook. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. He later worked in various community initiatives in and near Shellbrook, including the Economic Development Corporation, and the Shellbrook and District Physician Recruitment committee, which seeks to attract general practitioners to rural areas of the province without convenient access to local medical facilities.In 1992, Moe was convicted of drunk driving.
In 1997, he caused the death of one person in a highway traffic incident for which he was issued a ticket for driving without due care and attention. Alcohol was not a factor, but he claimed he couldn't recall the incident happening.
In the mid-1990s, while still attending university, Moe and his wife established a farming business, buying equipment and renting land. By the early 2000s, he had filed for bankruptcy with $208,500 in assets and $320,900 in liabilities.
Political career
Moe was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2011 election, and re-elected in the 2016 election as a Saskatchewan Party MLA. Scott served as a member of the legislature’s Standing Committee on Crown and Central Agencies and was deputy chair of the legislature’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts. Moe entered Cabinet on June 5, 2014 as Minister of Environment and Minister responsible for SaskWater and the Water Security Agency. On May 21, 2015, he was appointed as Minister of Advanced Education. On August 23, 2016, Moe returned to his former role as Minister of Environment and Minister responsible for SaskWater and the Water Security Agency.Environment Minister
On October 3, 2016, while provincial Environment Ministers were meeting with Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna to work on an agreement to reduce emissions as a collective nation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rose in the House of Commons to announce the federal government's plan to introduce a carbon tax for provinces that did not have one. Moe and two other Ministers walk out of the meeting with the Federal Environment Minister, describing the federal government's actions a reminiscent of a 'national energy program 2.0.' Observers and pundits in the province have called the carbon tax "his issue from the beginning", pointing out the Premier is largely on-side with public opinion in Saskatchewan, where polls have placed opposition against the tax as high as 88%.While he was Minister of the Environment and responsible for the Water Security Agency, Moe met with a fellow Saskatchewan Party Member of the Legislative Assembly, Bill Boyd, regarding Boyd's personal irrigation projects. The projects were reviewed by Moe, and later found to have illegally cultivated protected grasslands and involved building irrigation infrastructure into a river without obtaining the proper licensing permits. Regarding the process, Moe commented that he did not discuss the matter with Boyd after he was made aware that the project was in contravention of the Wildlife Habitat Protection Act, but that "There was a failure in following the law." When asked about specifics of the meeting with Boyd, such as where it was, when it was, who all attended, if there was a record of the meeting, or how it came about, Moe said he could not recall or did not know. Boyd was fined a total of $35,000 in relation to two charges laid in 2017 and ordered to remediate the shoreline violation. He was also removed from the Saskatchewan Party caucus by then-premier Brad Wall over the matter, and eventually resigned his position as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
Saskatchewan Party Leadership Campaign
On September 1, Moe formally launched his campaign for the leadership of the Saskatchewan Party with the backing of many prominent cabinet and caucus members.Moe's campaign promises focused on restoring $30 million in education funding to Saskatchewan schools, as well as the PST on health, life, and accident insurance products, and a renewed focus on trade and exports Saskatchewan undertakes with customers around the world.
During his campaign to replace outgoing premier Brad Wall, Moe stated that he does not personally support abortion, and that he would support a discussion of parental notification for abortions.
On January 27, 2018, he was elected the new leader of the Saskatchewan Party, beating Alanna Koch with 54% of the vote on the 4th ballot. He was sworn in as premier and appointed his first Cabinet on February 2, 2018.
Priorities as Premier
100 days after being sworn-in as Premier, Moe fulfilled some of the promises he made during the Saskatchewan Party leadership campaign, including restoring $30 million in education funding to classrooms, as well as the PST exemption on life, health, and accident insurance products. Moe has also carried the legacy of former Premier Brad Wall in opposing a federal carbon tax, citing Saskatchewan's strong environmental leadership in sectors such as agriculture.Moe has also been an outspoken advocate for getting pipelines built to ensure Saskatchewan oil can get to market. He has supported legislation to "turn off the taps" for oil to British Columbia for their opposition to pipeline construction, and has also publicly called on the federal government to restrict infrastructure funding to provinces that oppose federally-approved and regulated pipelines that cross provincial borders.
Moe has called for changes to Canada's Equalization program, claiming that “Equalization is an incredibly inequitable and flawed program, which has seen provinces like Saskatchewan, Alberta and Newfoundland receive zero year after year, even through the economic downturn in the resource sector. Meanwhile, other provinces continue to receive billions every year. That means our taxpayers continue to pay for programs and services in other provinces, even when those other provinces’ economies are strong.” Moe proposed a 50/50 formula for Equalization, which would see 50% of the program operate as it currently stands under the existing formula, and the remaining 50% be distributed as a per capita transfer to provinces. Not long after Moe announced the changes, it was revealed the federal government quietly renewed the Equalization formula until 2024, preempting a discussion on the topic at the upcoming meeting of Canada's Premiers in July.
Moe has made trade with other nations a focus of his government, replacing the Ministry of the Economy with the Ministry of Trade and Export Development, and has undertaken a number of international trade missions. Those missions include travel to Saskatchewan's largest trading partner, the United States, to meet with Senators, Congressmen, and members of President Donald Trump's cabinet, a mission to China, Saskatchewan's second-largest trading partner, a mission to India, Saskatchewan's third-largest trade market, and a mission in October 2019 to Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
On March 20, 2019, Moe's government introduced a balanced budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year without any brand new taxes, but an increase in the Provincial Sales Tax.