Budget day in Saskatchewan is almost here – with the provincial government set to outline its taxation and spending plans for the coming fiscal year on Wednesday.
During his appearance at the 120th Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) convention and in the days that followed, Premier Scott Moe offered hints at what will be included in the upcoming budget.
Here’s what we know so far.
Education and Affordability
Moe has said the education budget will increase “quite possibly substantially” – while associated costs will not.
Speaking to delegates at the convention, Moe vowed to reduce the education property tax mill rate – which he claims will save residents approximately $100 million annually.
Additionally, Moe committed to a bump in revenue sharing with municipalities – with the figure set to increase by $21.5 million or 6.3 per cent to $361.8 million.
The issue of affordability formed the center of the Saskatchewan Party’s election platform last fall.
The government introduced the Saskatchewan Affordability Act in December to deliver on many of its campaign promises on the topic.
Among the act’s provisions was a large reduction in personal income taxes.
It remains to be seen if any other affordability measures will appear in the coming budget.
On the topic of education, Moe has committed to building on investments aimed at improving Kindergarten to Grade 3 outcomes, in addition to the 76 relocatable classrooms previously announced in February.
Conversations around education funding continued in the shadow of the bitter year-long labour dispute between the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) and the province.
Months of negotiations and job action over class size and complexity led to binding arbitration in December of 2024.
Earlier this month, the arbitration board ruled that class complexity must be included as an article in any new collective bargaining agreement. The decision also requires the agreement to include a specialized class complexity fund of $20 million annually – in addition to all other funding.
Additionally, as part of the arbitration, teachers were also awarded a nine per cent salary increase over three years.
The 2024-25 provincial budget set aside $3.3 billion for the Ministry of Education - which oversees pre-kindergarten to Grade 12. The figure represented a $180 million, or 8.8 per cent, increase from the year previous.
Funds set aside for classroom supports totaled $356.6 million or $45.6 million more than in 2023-24.
Healthcare
The 2024-25 budget saw the Ministry of Health’s funding increase by $726.4 million or 10.6 per cent over the previous year.
Regardless, recruitment and retention of personnel and overcrowding in hospitals remain the most serious issues across Saskatchewan’s healthcare sector.
In response to capacity concerns, the province has recently announced funding boosts to specific hospitals – while moving forward with its Urgent Care Centre model to alleviate overcrowding at emergency rooms.
In response to recruitment and retention concerns, the province has repeatedly pointed to its Health and Human Resources Action Plan – conceived in 2022.
In the lead up to last fall’s election, the government seemingly reversed its stance on a “nursing task force” – inviting unions representing healthcare workers to discuss the endeavor.
The move was lambasted by organizations such as the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) – saying the province’s offer was for “vague future conversations” and not actionable commitments.
Effects of Trade War
It remains to be seen if this year’s budget will include any measures aimed at lessening the pain for producers and consumers in the face of instability with global trade – including the Canada/U.S. trade war.
In recent months, the premier has spoken about the danger of tariffs and has made repeated trips to Washington - meeting with U.S. lawmakers in an attempt to de-escalate the conflict.
Additionally, Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola and peas are expected to come into effect on March 20.
Saskatchewan currently produces more than half of the canola grown nationally.
Saskatchewan’s Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Jim Reiter will deliver the 2025-26 budget Wednesday afternoon inside the Legislature, it will also mark the opening day of spring sitting.
