Gordon Wyant

Wyant was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He earned both bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Saskatchewan.^[2][3] After receiving his law degree in 1986, Wyant was admitted to the bar in 1987 and practiced corporate law in Saskatoon.^[2][4] In 2008, he was appointed Queen's Counsel.^[4][5] Wyant served as a member of the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners and on the Board of Directors of Saskatoon's Credit Union Centre.^[6][7] He was also a public school board trustee from 2000 to 2002.^[8] Wyant worked as the business manager for Serge LeClerc before LeClerc was elected as MLA for Saskatoon Northwest as a member of the Saskatchewan Party in 2007.^[9]

City Council

Wyant was first elected to Saskatoon's City Council in 2003, representing Ward 5, and was re-elected in 2006 and 2009. During his time on council, Wyant was considered to be part of a conservative bloc of councillors who tended to align their votes.^[9] He was a supporter of curbside recycling and a critic of the rapid development of "big box" shopping centres.^[9][10]

Saskatchewan Party MLA

Serge LeClerc resigned as Saskatoon Northwest MLA in 2010, triggering a by-election for the seat. Wyant ran to succeed LeClerc under the Saskatchewan Party banner. He was elected MLA for Saskatoon Northwest on October 18, 2010, and resigned from City Council.^[11] Wyant went on to be re-elected in the 2011 provincial election; he was then named Deputy House Leader and in 2012 was named to Premier Brad Wall's cabinet as Minister of Justice and Attorney General.^[8]

After Brad Wall announced in 2017 that he would be retiring, Wyant resigned from cabinet and entered the race to succeed Wall as Saskatchewan Party leader and Saskatchewan Premier.^[12] During his leadership campaign, Wyant promised a public inquiry into the Global Transportation Hub land scandal—an issue he first identified and flagged to the party in 2012 when serving as Attorney General^[13]—and pledged a $30 million increase in funding for education.^[14][15] Wyant criticized the emergence of abortion as a campaign issue, stating that the Supreme Court had offered "finality" on the issue.^[16] While he held a membership in the federal Liberal Party, Wyant promised to continue the party's combative approach to federal relations.^[12] In the 2018 leadership election, Wyant finished fourth after being eliminated on the third ballot; the election was won by Scott Moe.^[17]

After Moe was sworn in as Premier, Wyant was appointed Deputy Premier and Minister of Education.^[15] He ended his advocacy for an inquiry into the GTH scandal, stating that it was the government's position to "move on" from it.^[18] Wyant was in charge of the education portfolio during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and guided the implementation of the province's plans for reopening schools in the fall of 2020.^[19] In a late 2020 cabinet shuffle, Wyant took over the justice portfolio, beginning a second stint as Attorney General; he stayed in that role until May 2022, when he was named the advanced education minister.^[20][21] In October 2023, Wyant was absent for the vote that enshrined the controversial Parents' Bill of Rights into law; however, Premier Moe stated that he was "100 per cent" confident that Wyant supported the legislation.^[22]

On February 6, 2024, despite having already been acclaimed the Saskatchewan Party candidate for Saskatoon Northwest, Wyant announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2024 provincial election.^[23] The same week, Wyant suggested that he was contemplating running to become mayor of Saskatoon in the fall 2024 municipal election.^[24] He was shuffled out of cabinet on May 17, 2024. ^[25]

Wyant has four children with his wife, Christine Hrudka.^[26]

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