Saskatchewan’s provincial government has announced a $20.1 billion budget that increases spending on education, health care, and municipalities.
Finance Minister Donna Harpauer rose in the legislature on March 20 to announce a provincial budget that addresses concerns about class sizes and complexity, as well as crowded hospitals and emergency rooms.
“This budget delivers the largest new investment in three of the most important areas to Saskatchewan’s future—classrooms, care, and communities,” Ms. Harpauer told the legislature.
She also announced the province is projecting a deficit of $273 million for 2023–24, with $19.9 billion in revenue and spending of $20.1 billion. She said the province expects a surplus of $18 million in next year’s budget, “due to increasing revenue driven by economic growth and a growing labour force.”
While overall provincial revenue has gone up, she said, it’s been dampened by slower growth in non-renewable resources—mostly mining of potash, a component of fertilizer and a major part of the province’s mining sector.
The budget emphasizes affordability, containing no new taxes or tax increases, she said, adding that the government removed the federal carbon tax on home heating in January, “saving Saskatchewan families an average of about $400 per year.”
The province plans to spend a record $4.4 billion on education—nearly 22 percent of the budget—including a record $2.2 billion on operating funding for Saskatchewan’s 27 school divisions to help address problems such as overcrowded classrooms.
Health care will get the largest share of the budget—nearly 38 percent of it—with $7.6 billion, an increase of 10 percent. Spending is targeted at several areas, including $30 million to address issues like emergency room overcrowding in Saskatoon and Regina, the province’s two biggest cities. Funding is also being earmarked toward reducing surgical wait times and, like other provinces, hiring, training, and retaining health care professionals.
Mental health and addictions are also getting record funding—about $574 million—which the province says represents more than 7 percent of overall health care spending.
The province announced a record $340 million of municipal revenue sharing for cities and towns.
The budget includes $228 million in operational funding for the RCMP, which handles policing in rural areas and smaller communities. There is also $7 million earmarked for the Saskatchewan Marshals Service, which is expected to begin operating in 2026.
As Ms. Harpauer spoke at the legislature in Regina, hundreds of teachers were outside protesting stalled contract talks and calling for more funding to address classroom size and complexity. For weeks, 13,000 teachers have been holding rotating job action to push for a new contract.
The NDP Opposition called the spending plan an election-year budget with no cuts in sales or fuel taxes to make life more affordable for working families.
The province’s debt remains a concern for some, as budget documents show taxpayer-supported debt will be about $21 billion by the end of the 2024–25 budget year. Total provincial debt, which includes Crown corporations, will be about $34 billion.
The Saskatchewan branch of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) expressed disappointment at the deficit.
The budget “provides zero tax relief,” said the statement, pointing to provinces like Manitoba which cut the provincial gas tax on Jan. 1.
The government says its net debt-to-GDP is the second lowest among the provinces.
The budget is Ms. Harpauer’s seventh budget, and her last. The veteran cabinet minister is one of eight veteran MLAs, some still in cabinet, who have announced they will not be running in the fall provincial election.
The Saskatchewan Party has been in power since 2007. Voters are expected to go to the polls in October.
