Travis Toews ended months of speculation by making the announcement on Twitter.
Toews was elected in 2019 for the UCP and was finance minister for all but a few months when he ran to replace former premier Jason Kenney as party leader, coming in second to Premier Danielle Smith. He stickhandled many controversial files, including de-indexing personal income tax, arguing for wage cuts to nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic and lifting the rate cap on auto insurance.
Toews looked born to the part of outdoorsman/number cruncher: close-cropped hair, eyeglasses and well-worn cowboy boots with a trademark monotone speaking style occasionally punctuated by high-decibel, finger-pointing attacks on the Opposition during question period.The decision comes a little over a month from when the writ is expected to be drop for a scheduled May 29 election.