Meet Saskatoon mayoral candidate Gordon Wyant
Gord Wyant is back.
After serving as a 14-year MLA and a 12-year cabinet minister, handling key portfolios like justice, education and serving as deputy premier, Wyant is back in Saskatoon running for mayor.
“I want my children to continue to live in Saskatoon, I want my grandchildren and my great grandchildren to grow up here, and I think that there are some things that needed to change,” Wyant said from his campaign office.
“And I thought I had the experience to bring to the mayor's chair to effect the changes for the betterment of the City of Saskatoon.”
Like many of his political endeavours, Wyant never imagined running for mayor of Saskatoon.
As a corporate lawyer in 2000, Wyant answered a phone call from a friend asking him to run as a public school board trustee. Then in 2003, he got a call from outgoing city councillor Peter McCann, encouraging him to make a bid for council.
“In a lot of ways, you can call me a reluctant politician because it wasn’t part of my plan,” Wyant said.
Now, the former seven-year councillor is looking to lead Saskatoon the next four years and fix some of the issues he’s identified in need of change: safety, spending and accountability from council.
“I've always maintained that Saskatoon doesn't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem, and we need to get back to spending money on the core services of government before we can start thinking about a lot of extraneous issues that are happening in the city,” Wyant said.
You have questions, we have answers. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the civic election.
“Get the city back on track, make sure the city is taking responsibility for the things that it's responsible for, and not delving into areas of the responsibility of other levels of government.”
Part of Wyant’s reintroduction to Saskatoon is the reintroduction of his first name in full. By all of Wyant’s campaign material, he is going by Gordon rather than the informal Gord he’s been called for much of the past two decades.
After the Saskatchewan Party was nearly swept out of Saskatoon in last month’s provincial election — winning one of 14 constituencies and trailing in another prior to a final count on Saturday — Wyant isn’t hiding from his political past. He’s leaning into it and all the experience that comes with his years of experience in the legislature.
“Certainly, the relationships that I've had with the provincial government over 14 years will be very, very helpful in terms of rebuilding relationships,” Wyant said. “And I think the fact that the party has lost some significant support in this community creates some great opportunities for me to re-establish some relationships and build on some of the things that the people of the city want from their provincial government.”
The outgoing council has largely been dominated by 6-5 vote splits on many decisions, and every so often, the city been at odds with the provincial government.
This past year alone, city council wasn’t willing to endorse a chunk of a proposed freeway meant to bypass the city, it’s argued with the province over a provincially owned and funded homeless shelter placed in Fairhaven, and council reluctantly approved a land levy for all new single-family home builds intended to pay for the land used for the development of future high schools – a provincial responsibility the government has now shunted to municipalities.
Wyant is hoping his time with the Sask. Party will smooth over the relationship.
“You're always going to have differences of opinion, but I've always built my career — whether it's in my law practice or in my public service — around collaboration, about building relationships with people.” Wyant said.
“That's how you get things done.”
Over the next five to 10 years, Wyant sees Saskatoon strengthening itself as the economic engine of Saskatchewan.
Wyant wants to help small businesses succeed, he wants to see the University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Polytechnic continue to be a global leader and driver of jobs and opportunities, and he plans to accomplish that through his faith in building positive relationships.
But most importantly, he sees a desire for change from the residents of Saskatoon.
“The city wants a new direction. The city wants some more hope when it comes to how we're going to move forward with the City of Saskatoon. And I think I bring that hope based on the experience that I have,” Wyant said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Gunman's steps after killing UnitedHealthcare's CEO gives police new clues in hunt for the killer
As the hunt for a masked gunman who stalked and killed the head of the largest U.S. health insurer moved into its third day Friday, surveillance footage provided more clues about the suspect's travels and the places he visited before the shooting.
Purolator, UPS pause shipments from couriers amid Canada Post strike
Purolator and UPS have paused shipments from some courier companies as they try to work through a deluge of deliveries brought on by the Canada Post strike.
NDP's Singh forces debate on $250 cheques for more Canadians; Conservatives cut it short
With the fate of the federal government's promised $250 cheques for 18.7 million workers hanging in the balance, the NDP forced a debate Friday on a motion pushing for the prime minister to expand eligibility. The conversation was cut short, though, by Conservative MPs' interventions.
Sask. father who kept daughter from mom to prevent COVID-19 vaccine free from additional prison time
Michael Gordon Jackson, the Saskatchewan father who withheld his then seven-year-old daughter from her mom for nearly 100 days to prevent the girl from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, was handed a 12-month prison sentence and 200 days probation on Friday, but credited with time served.
Ticketmaster hidden fees settlement credits expected in 2025 following class-action lawsuit by Regina lawyer
A longstanding lawsuit against Ticketmaster is nearing its end, with a judge expected to approve the more than $6 million dollar settlement before the end of the year.
What is still being delivered? What to know about the Canada Post strike
With Canada Post workers on strike, many individuals and businesses are facing the challenge of sending and receiving mail. Here are the answers to some of Canadians’ most-asked questions.
How the combination of diapers and splash pads led to 10K illnesses
New research is raising concerns about the safety of splash pads, which can be ground zero for germs and greatly increase the risk of spreading disease.
Canada's list of banned guns is expanding. Here's what you need to know
Canada is expanding its federal ban on firearms, adding 324 makes and models of guns to the prohibited weapons list, effective immediately.
Canadian unemployment rate jumps near 8-year high
Canada had 1.5 million unemployed people in November, propelling its jobless rate to a near-eight-year high outside of the pandemic era and boosting chances of a large interest rate cut on Dec. 11.