Premier Brad Wall, who has been praised for his social media usage, took to Facebook yesterday to formally announce that he will be retiring from politics.

The move surprised many, with rumours swirling that he may have considered running for office on the national scene.

"I've always thought that the ten-year mark, should I be so fortunate to serve that long, might be the right time to re-evaluate," said Premier Wall in his video yesterday. "It's time for me to retire from politics."

Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Dustin Duncan noted that the Premier made his announcement to caucus on Wednesday, but he too was shocked by the news.

"It's really a bitter sweet moment," he told Discover Weyburn. "He's such a good leader and he's been such a good friend and just a great premier for this province."

Wall was elected as the 14th Premier of Saskatchewan in 2007 and has served three consecutive terms.

"He's made so much progress on a number of important areas," said MLA Duncan. "He's such a good spokesperson for the province and I think for the country and I think that's going to be missed."

Duncan has worked with Wall for over a decade and says he can understand the move.

"It's a big job that he's taken on the past ten plus years, as leader of the opposition and leader of our party," he noted. "So from that side I'm happy for him and his family."

Twitter also came alive with reactions to the news, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeting "Thanks, @PremierBradWall, for your years of service and work for the province & people of Saskatchewan. All the best in your retirement". He also released a full statement on the news. 

Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper also sent his wishes via Twitter, saying "@PremierBradWall will go down in history as the man who turned the fortunes of Saskatchewan around; wishing him the best going forward."

Even Trent Wotherspoon, former interim leader of the Saskatchewan NDP, sent his wishes; "Setting aside many fierce battles, I thank @PremierBradWall, Tami and their family and wish them the best personally".

Premier Wall will continue on as Premier until a new leader of the party is elected.