Premier Scott Moe talks trade, addictions treatment as he looks ahead to 2026

Scott Moe has a big year ahead.

Saskatchewan’s premier sat down with 980 CJME’s senior reporter Lisa Schick to discuss some of the challenges that 2026 will hold for the province, as well as his New Year’s resolutions and his predictions for the next Grey Cup.

Read more:

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The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

980 CJME: Looking forward to the Compassionate Intervention Act coming into effect, I imagine this is going to be a big chunk of work for your government in a year. I understand there’s a fair bit that still has to be worked out.

SCOTT MOE: Yeah, this is pushing at the edges, and I’ll be the first to say it. There’s been a lot of work that has went into this act. Legal work, consultation work with families, with police officers, with the legal community and others. There’s a lot of work that has been put into this. It was introduced in the last day, and we really wanted it to be introduced this fall, so that we could have the discussion as a community and as people on not only should it go forward – and I expect that it will – but how can it go forward, not only in the most compassionate way but the most effective way as well? And if there’s tweaks that need to be made to the act, certainly the minister is open to looking at those and and will further consult on on any suggested tweaks. But that’s why we wanted it introduced, so that people could talk about it, could discuss it, and ensure that it is a very solid piece of legislation moving forward. There’s other acts available in Canada, but this may be one of the more unique ways to look at how compassionate care is implemented. And again, it is, I think, a significant step forward, but it’s important for us to remember that it’s only one step forward in this government totally focusing on and, I would say, investing – not only financial investment, but investing in policy and in direction, and in everything the government does – in providing every opportunity for that recovery lifestyle to be the simplest and the most straightforward decision for anyone that has, unfortunately, slipped into a life of addictions, to make. That’s why we have access points at our urgent care centers (and) the complex-needs facilities that have been invested in in this province. Everything is focused on and bringing people to that decision of ‘I need to enter, and the best decision for me is to enter a recovery lifestyle,’ and that’s what we want in this province.

You spent basically all of this year working on trade. Any predictions for where that trade situation will go next year?

SCOTT MOE: I would hope in a very good space, and I would hope as soon as possible. I don’t think anyone can make any predictions on what will happen next week, next month, or even in the next number of months, when it comes to the decisions that might be coming out of the president of the United States, or any indirect decisions that would come from other countries as well. What I do know is that Saskatchewan is at the very center of many of those conversations where Canada is involved. And what I do know is that as we find through our way through the short term, we have some very choppy waters. We see the Canadian economy starting to struggle. (In the) federal budget, the revenue lines are not where they should be, and provincial budgets as well. Not only ours, although ours may be a little more insulated. Provincial budgets are very much going to be challenged on the revenue lines as well, due to these very choppy waters that we have with respect to our trade relations with the U.S. and with other countries around the world. In the medium to long term, Saskatchewan is in a very strong situation for a few reasons. One is the very innovative people here that are creating value by developing the resources that we have, which the world needs. And you can go down the list of what it is we produce and how we create jobs in this province. We do so by creating food, fuel and fertilizer, things that absolutely the world is going to need in the medium to long term. And so I would say that Saskatchewan is very well positioned to play a significant role – an even more significant role – in the future than we have in the past, on all of the fronts and in all of the industries that we have. However, the short term isn’t without its challenges, and that’s that’s going to continue for at least a little while yet.

What’s your New Year’s resolution for yourself or your government?

SCOTT MOE: My New Year’s resolution is actually quite a personal one, and it’s to make myself more available to my family. And it’s easy said and a little more difficult done, but that is my New Year’s resolution, and I say that to some degree selfishly. I miss them. I’ve been driving back and forth to Regina for 15 years, and I miss spending time with my family, and even when I am home. My New Year’s resolution is to be much more present in my family’s life, and to make sure I’m making every effort to be very attentive to them in everything they do, even when it’s from afar. I don’t think I’m old yet, but I’m certainly not young, and my friends and I have had some chats last year or two. We go on a fishing trip every year. We try to go for sometimes a day, sometimes two days, and sooner or later we might be down one. We’re just getting to that stage of our life I think something that is important to everyone, and maybe I’m fortunate that I’m still here and able to actually make that a commitment like that, to be more present in my close friends’ and my family’s life.

Will we get an announcement in the next year about your future in politics?

SCOTT MOE: I think I’m good to keep going if Saskatchewan people will still have me for a while. Every politician, and in particular, I think, as you find your way into into leadership positions, you have a shelf life, for sure. However, when you get into a very unsecure environment where things are changing by the day, literally, in global situations, there’s a certain amount of security that can be provided by that steady leadership, that strong leadership that isn’t going to take the bait on something that is said or done each and every day, and to some degree trying to provide that unflappable leadership or that steady leadership in a time where there just are a lot of things that are happening in the world. So at the end of the day Saskatchewan people always get to say who’s going to lead this province. We can be very fortunate that we have a democracy in Saskatchewan and in Canada. We don’t always agree with the outcome, but we always get to say, and they will in this province as well. But I ran for a reason, and it was to make this place just a little bit better than maybe had found it, and to provide an opportunity for my children’s generation to actively make a decision to stay here if they should so choose. And I think we’re getting to that point in this province, and I’m proud to be part of that. It’s not to say there isn’t a lot of challenges that we need to deal with, but I am proud to be part of where we are from an economic perspective and the opportunities that youth have today that 25, 30 years ago we just didn’t have in this province. So I’m looking forward to the next election, if that’s what you’re asking, and I’m looking forward to running in the next election.

Any Grey Cup predictions for next year?

SCOTT MOE: We will win again. That’s pretty much a certainty. And you see the Riders starting to sign Yoshi and Trevor Harris, and Logan (Ferland is) going to be back on the o line. This is not a one-and-done team.