Biography

Prior to his involvement in politics, Wayne Elhard was a partner in a farming operation and worked as a salesman in the farm machinery business for more than 20 years. He spent ten years in the electronic media, including advertising sales, announcing and news/public affairs broadcasting at stations in B.C., Alberta, and Texas before moving to Saskatchewan in 1982.

Mr. Elhard also worked as a personnel recruiter for one of Canada's leading recruiting and consulting firms. Based in Edmonton, he worked on behalf of many of the nation's foremost engineering and construction companies, recruiting professional personnel. It was that job which helped form his views on the significance of economic growth and the importance of labour mobility.

Mr. Elhard is a Saskatchewan native son, however, he obtained most of his education in Alberta. He graduated from high school in Medicine Hat, obtained a B.A. in history and philosophy from the University of Lethbridge, and later earned a Master's Degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Mr. Elhard's community involvement includes several years of service on the Economic Development Committee in Eastend, Chairman of Southline Fellowship Inc., and as a member of the organizing board for the Frenchman River Valley Gospel Music Jamboree. He continues to volunteer as a co-emcee for this annual event each June.

Mr. Elhard was the first Saskatchewan Party MLA elected to the Legislature in a by-election in June of 1999. He was re-elected in the 1999 provincial election, and again in 2003 and 2007. He served as the Minister of Highways and Infrastructure from November 21, 2007 to May 29, 2009.  As well, he served as the Provincial Secretary during that time period.

Mr. Elhard and his wife, Marilyn, continue to call Eastend home. They have been married for 33 years and have two children. Jonathan and his family live in Red Deer, Alberta, and Brooklyn, who lives and works in Regina,