Norris hoping background in politics will help launch him into the mayor’s chair

As a veteran of provincial and federal politics, Saskatoon’s Rob Norris is now hoping voters will choose him to become the city’s next mayor.

Born in Edmonton, Norris moved to Saskatoon in 1994 and became involved in politics at the University of Saskatchewan.

He made friends, he says, with those in the Liberal Party and in the Progressive Conservative Party.

In 1997 he went to work in Ottawa as a legislative assistant, and over the next several years ran first as a provincial Liberal for David Karwacki, but was later recruited by Brad Wall and the Saskatchewan Party.

“We identified Saskatoon Greystone as the seat that we would seek and rolled up our sleeves and worked as hard as we could for the better part of two years,” Norris says. “And as fate had it … I was able to join Brad’s government with about 300 votes.”

He was re-elected in 2011 and worked as Minister of Advanced Education, Employment, Labour, Immigration, Innovation and SaskPower as well as other portfolios.

So why the jump to civic politics, and why should voters choose him?

“The requirements of mayor really require some key experience, obviously professional judgment, political judgment, and also working well with others,” says Norris. “What we might call ‘across the aisle, and team-building and consensus.’ ”

And at this point, he believes the status quo simply isn’t working, adding that Saskatoon residents are “locked in” to what he says is a failed fiscal “experiment” by Charlie Clark.

“If there’s anything I should say I would bring is — my fear is — well, it just seems like there’s a little bit of group think or a little bit of a comfort level in some of the status quo players …,” he says. “Maybe it’s time for some fresh thinking and fresh eyes on some of the problems and some potential solutions that we seem to be skating by.”

Among the issues he believes need immediate attention? He’s made no secret of the cost of the new Saskatoon Library, with its $134-million price tag.

“I love libraries, but that price tag, well frankly, we’re living a little bit beyond our means, especially in the pandemic,” Norris says.

If elected, Norris says he would cut the salaries of the mayor and chief of staff by 10 per cent. He would also reduce the city communications budget by the same amount.

And he emphasizes that economic rebound is important after COVID-19.

“What we’ve seen is a great deal of passivity from Charlie Clark,” Norris says. “What we need to do is we need a job summit. We need to focus on key sectors of  growth and we need to put some new energy and some really fresh energy into this.”

With regards to the level of crime in the city, Norris believes there needs to be two conversations.

One involves addressing what more can and should be done in partnership with the federal government, provincial government, First Nations and Metis partners among others to ensure better programming options and outcomes for those who are most vulnerable in Saskatoon.

The second involves giving police and social workers the proper resources to do their jobs, and allowing the mayor to sit as the chair of the Board of Police Commissioners.

“We need to stand shoulder to shoulder with police. We need to understand that the crime is not simply downtown anymore,” he contends. “The tone at the top matters.”

Aside from politics, Norris says his daughter is the “apple of his eye.” He gets great support from his sister, and from the Kimpton and Drury families.

He likes to golf, enjoys hockey, writing and running — along with writing and reading up on international relations.

His hero? Well, that’s former premier Brad Wall and former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed. One day in particular he says was very special for him.

‘”There was one day when Premier Wall invited me down to his office,” Norris says. “I knew Peter Lougheed a little bit. And there he was. He was visiting the Saskatchewan Legislature and we were able to get a photo.

“In a sense, there was an opportunity to be with a couple of my heroes: Premier Brad Wall and Premier Peter Lougheed.”

Norris says he’s also proud of working on Nutrien’s Community Advisory Council and as the board chair of Canada World Youth.