Prince Albert MLA Joe Hargrave not running again in fall election

Another Saskatchewan Party MLA and cabinet minister won’t be running in the province’s next election.

The party announced on Monday that Joe Hargrave, who has represented Prince Albert Carlton since 2016, will not be seeing re-election.

“My family and I have given this a lot of consideration and have decided I just can’t commit to another four years as MLA,” Hargrave said in a statement.

“I want to thank my family, friends, and most importantly, the constituents of Prince Albert Carlton for your support over the past eight years.”

In his eight years as an MLA, Hargrave has held a number of cabinet portfolios, including his current role as minister of SaskBuilds and procurement. He resigned from his position as highways minister in 2021 after facing criticism for a trip he took to Palm Springs, California in order to sell a home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The party said it will nominate a new candidate in the riding “in the coming weeks.”

A number of high-profile and long-serving MLAs in the governing Saskatchewan Party have said they won’t seek re-election this fall, including Finance Minister Donna Harpauer, Government Relations Minister Don McMorris, Advanced Education Minister Gordon Wyant and Crown Investments Corporation Minister Dustin Duncan.

According to the party, 28 of its 48 nominated candidates for the upcoming election are incumbents. Sixteen Sask. Party incumbents have chosen not to run again, including several who, like Hargrave, had already secured the party’s nomination.

The next Saskatchewan election must be held on or before October 28.