Leaders in Sask. agriculture remember MLA Lyle Stewart

Leaders in Saskatchewan’s agriculture industry are sharing stories and impressions of former provincial minister Lyle Stewart after his death from cancer.

Stewart was the MLA for Thunder Creek and then Lumsden-Morse from 1999 until his resignation in 2023 due to health issues.

He was Saskatchewan’s Minister of Agriculture from 2012 to 2018, and is being remembered well by those who worked with him during that time.

Chris Lane worked with Stewart when Lane served as the CEO of Agribition. Lane said on The Evan Bray Show that he and Stewart started the tradition of doing something “kind of dumb” together to raise money for STARS Air Ambulance.

It got started, he remembered, when they were chatting at a dinner about new events at Agribition. Lane said he told Stewart about children being taught to ride steer at the livestock show.

“(Stewart) got a bit of a crooked smile on his face and he looks and says ‘I bet I could do that,’” said Lane.

After an evening of ribbing each other about it, Lane said they ended up trying their luck on steers a formal event.

“I remember that day, being all dressed up in the helmet and the vest and everything, climbing down the chute onto that steer and thinking ‘the worst thing that could happen is not that I get hurt, but I actually somehow hurt a minister of the Crown here and embarrass us both,’” he remembered

Lane said Stewart beat him that day, but walked with a limp for months after.

“He had that kind of sense of humour, and he was up for the challenge,” he said.

Lane remembered Stewart as a builder as well, crediting him with the advocacy that got the International Trade Centre at REAL built in Regina.

“That’s a lasting, world-class facility that exists in Regina that I’m not sure would have gotten done if it weren’t for him in the middle, driving that,” said Stewart.

Ray Orb has similar sentiments around Stewart. Orb, the long-time president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, said Stewart was responsible for some big advancements in the province, like reinvigorating the Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project.

“That was something that Lyle Stewart was really interested in and actually had a mandate from his cabinet, from the Saskatchewan Party, to promote that,” said Orb.

Orb added that Stewart knew the importance of agriculture, not only to the province, but also to himself. He said Stewart spoke to his son and daughter-in-law for nearly 20 minutes on one provincial budget day about his beef cattle herd.

“Lyle was different in that sense, that he took time to talk to people and to make sure everyone understood how important agriculture in this province was, and still is today,” said Orb.

Orb said he was really proud of Stewart as the agriculture minister, saying he was well-respected and will be missed.