Jennifer Campeau stepping down as Saskatoon MLA

Jennifer Campeau says she was in awe as she walked into the legislative building on a tour when she was just 10 years old.

She had no idea that one day, she would become an MLA herself, elected twice in the constituency of Saskatoon Fairview.

On Wednesday, Campeau announced her retirement from the political world.

"It's hard for me to stand here stonefaced," she told reporters. "It was an honour to sit next to the fine women and men of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly."

First elected in 2011, Campeau was the first Indigenous Saskatchewan MLA to become a cabinet minister under Premier Brad Wall.

"It's a loss," said Wall. "All of us in politics, whatever our party, we need to be focused on recruiting women into politics, and more First Nations women."

In 2014, she was appointed to cabinet as the minister of Central Services. After that, she served as the legislative secretary for First Nations Student Achievement.

Campeau said she was most proud of her work on the province's action plan to address bullying and cyberbullying.

"Something that really resonated with me was sitting in on the consultation on the bullying report," she said. "That was really a big component on why I continued to run in the second election."

Campeau will be moving to British Columbia for a job with mining company Rio Tinto.

She will serve her last day on Sunday. The provincial government has six months to call a byelection in the constituency.