Naveed Anwar new Saskatchewan Liberal Party leader

The Saskatchewan Liberal Party announced that Naveed Anwar has become their 21st leader.

The lone candidate was acclaimed on Saturday.

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“I truly appreciate the support shown by the executive and Liberal members to have me lead the Liberal Party into the next provincial election,” Anwar said in a press release.

“I am looking forward to providing strong leadership to bring a positive kind of politics to Saskatchewan, focusing on ideas that will benefit our province and our people in the long term through economic and social diversity.”

Anwar, who grew up in Pakistan, studied business at Concordia University in Montreal. He now lives in Saskatoon with his family and owns a tax consulting firm.

He takes over from Tara Jijian, who has served as interim leader of the Saskatchewan Liberals since September 2017.

Anwar was the Saskatchewan NDP’s candidate for the Saskatoon Sutherland riding in the 2011 provincial election. He lost to the Saskatchewan Party’s Paul Merriman.

During the 2016 election, Anwar came in third place for the Liberals in the Saskatoon Westview riding. The Saskatchewan Party’s David Buckingham also defeated former NDP leader Cam Broten to win the seat.

The Liberal party has not won a seat in the Saskatchewan legislature since 1999.