[Boreal]

That is likely a very complex answer. However, given the salaries reported in the Free Press not too long ago, I would argue that opportunity cost has a lot to do with it. A life in politics is a life under public scrutiny, and likely great pressure at some points, if not continuously. If you are a skilled individual, with leadership qualities, able to make sound judgement calls that affect many people and do it all for the better, you could go into small or large enterprise and make much more than the premier makes. This is all not to say that anything over $100,000 as annual income is modest - because it is not. However, the type of individuals one tries to attract to the province's high chair, likely can make much more elsewhere, and perhaps deal with far less stress.

I don't mean to posture that all of our public service employees aren't of high quality. Some are excellent. However, I do feel that opportunity cost does keep some - and perhaps great - leaders away. This is of course sheer speculation, and clearly you can't just ratchet up public service salaries without one, causing internal strife, and two, a likely backlash from the public.