REGINA - Tory Ontarians, like myself, often look west for inspiring examples of conservative leadership in public policy and politics. We can not do much better than to look to the example of Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall.

His right leaning Saskatchewan Party has won that province's election with a resounding vote of confidence from local voters. 64% of voting Saskatchewanites backed Premier Wall. He now enters the provincial legislature with renewed vigour, having taken 49 of 58 seats.

What can the conservative movement learn from Brad Wall? First, we can learn the power of principled conservatism in public policy. Brad Wall was a conservative in office, made conservative pledges during the election, and communicated his conservatism to a voting public in a way that appealed to their instinctive populism. His was a well orchestrated march to office that deserves applause.

It is rare to find consistent conservatism in elected office, but Brad Wall was a rare example of such consistency. On the majority of issues he stands firmly on the right.

He has publicly decried cap-and-trade as a redistributive mechanism that doesn't adequately address environmental protection. Instead, he refers to it simply as a government tax, as right a characterization as can be made of the cap-and-trade scam.

Wall has never let environmentalist hysteria stand in the way of good public policy: he has pledged to build new clean coal facilities in his province, cleaning up the excesses of that energy source while acknowledging the sound economics behind it.

He has stood tall on an unbelievable unemployment rate of 3.7 percent for the month of October, the lowest unemployment rate in the country. Many factors contribute to this booming economy, including a strong commodities market. But we can't avoid offering some credit to the man who has offered such strong economic leadership for his province.

Taxes across the board, including education property taxes, income taxes, and small business taxes have been reduced. Saskatchewan's public debt has been sliced by 44% and that province's budget has been balanced. Tax credits for mineral exploration, research, and development will serve as a form of fiscally responsible economic stimulus as challenges in the world economy continue to fester.

In beautiful contrast to the United States, Wall's leadership led Saskatchewan's credit rating to be upgraded to 'AAA', the highest grade attainable. It is a sign of strong conservative leadership that Wall managed this achievement even as failed liberal President Obama sinks his country into further debt and a downgraded credit rating.

Fiscal conservatism aside, Wall campaigned on a strong commitment to getting tough on crime. This is a commendable position considering the broad majority of public opinion which backs a new commitment to public safety in Canada. Wall's campaign platform advocated hiring more police officers and more prosecutors to deal with high risk criminals. It is a commendable approach to dealing with crime, both on the streets and in the courtrooms where excessive workloads lead prosecutors to cut deals that include reduced sentencing.

Perhaps the finest laurel Premier Wall bears is in simple demographic trends. For years, a lack of economic opportunities led young Saskatchewanites to pour out of the province. The best in local talent was fleeing Saskatchewan in droves for greater opportunities abroad and in other Canadian provinces.

That trend has now almost been totally reversed. Immigration to Saskatchewan, now a haven of economic opportunity in a troubled landscape, has never been higher. From 2008 to 2011, population grew by over 80 000. This represents the greatest period of sustained growth in over 80 years. On July 1st, 2011, Saskatchewan's population hit a record high, not exactly a small achievement for a province whose demographic trends had population shrinking for so very long.

Wall has also signed the New West Partnership, an ambitious free trade deal between Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Conservative Canadians would be embarrassed to learn of the thorough inter-provincial trade barriers which also serve as barriers to growth. Leadership in the arena of ending these outdated barriers is to be commended.

Why would I spend an entire column praising Brad Wall? Because we need conservative leadership like this, not just in Saskatchewan but in every province in the country. As we face the challenges of new economic realities, principled conservatism will continue to shine a torch on the public policy directions which will see us forward. With models like Brad Wall, I am confident our nation will remain at the forefront of the new Canadian century.