Overview
Finance Minister Hon. Jim Reiter tabled Saskatchewan’s Budget 2026 this afternoon, titled Protecting Saskatchewan. The Minister’s address announced an $819 million deficit, acknowledging that “significant global economic and geopolitical turmoil”, fueled by tariffs, trade realignments, and international conflicts, has put substantial pressure on provincial finances.
The deficit is largely influenced by a decline in non-renewable resource revenue and a contraction in net income from Government Business Enterprises. Fueled by an oil price crunch. The budget highlighted Saskatchewan’s position as a national leader in low unemployment, housing starts, and private capital investment:
- Infrastructure and Energy Evolution: A $4.3 billion capital plan, supported by a growing $932 million SMR Investment Fund, signaling a long-term shift toward nuclear power and energy security.
- Record Health and Patients First Investment: A record $8.5 billion health budget (up 5%) anchors the new Patients First Health Care Plan, focusing on the largest nurse practitioner expansion in provincial history and a multi-year goal to link every resident to a primary provider by 2028.
- Aggressive Affordability Mandate: The budget delivers $2.5 billion in annual affordability measures, including the second year of a four-year personal income tax reduction.
Key Figures
- Total Revenue: $21.4 billion (up from $21.1 billion in the 2025-26 Budget).
- Total Spending: $22.2 billion (a 5.7% increase to address classroom complexity and healthcare backlogs).
- Deficit: $819.4 million, with a projected return to a $124 million surplus by 2030-31.
Sector Highlights
Health System Investments
- Primary Care Expansion: The budget focuses on ensuring every resident has a primary care provider by 2028, with a significant funding lift to support physician services and health human resources.
- Urgent Care Centres (UCCs): Completion of the Saskatoon UCC and ongoing planning for five new UCCs in Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Prince Albert, Regina, and Saskatoon to divert emergency room traffic.
- Surgical Backlog: Continued investment to improve access to timely surgeries and expand hospital bed capacity, including 60 new acute beds in Saskatoon.
- Nurse Practitioner Expansion: Funding to support the largest nurse practitioner expansion in provincial history, including support for independent clinics to accept more patients.
- Mental Health and Addictions: $673 million total investment, featuring 200 new addictions treatment spaces and the operationalization of the first phase of the Compassionate Intervention Act.
Education
- Record K-12 Funding: A $3.6 billion total investment in PreK-12 education, including a $62 million increase in operating grants for school divisions.
- Classroom Complexity: Funding for 50 additional specialized support classrooms, bringing the provincial total to 108 to help teachers manage diverse learning needs.
- New Schools: $124 million in capital for 20 ongoing projects and three new school starts in Martensville-Warman, Shellbrook, and Esterhazy.
- Post-Secondary Stability: A new multi-year funding agreement providing 3% annual operating increases for universities and colleges, while capping tuition increases at 3%.
Energy, Economic Development and Trade
- SMR Transition: The government is leveraging the Small Modular Reactor Investment Fund to bridge the gap toward nuclear power, focusing on energy security and long-term reliability.
- Critical Mineral Incentives: Enhancements to the Research and Development Tax Credit (now $41M annually) to benefit over 2,700 companies in the mining, agriculture, and life sciences sectors.
- Forestry Competitiveness: Increasing market trigger prices for Crown Timber Dues to help the sector manage rising production costs.
- Carbon Tax Relief: Continued withholding of the federal carbon tax on electricity, which the government claims will save residents and businesses $500 million this year.
Tax Changes
- Personal Income Tax Reduction: Implementing Year 2 of the four-year plan to increase personal, spousal, and child exemptions by $500 each, over and above indexation.
- Bank Tax Increase: The Corporation Capital Tax (CCT) for large financial institutions will rise from 4% to 6%.
- Crown CCT Phase-Out: CCT on Crown corporations is reduced to 0.3% this year and will be eliminated entirely by April 1, 2027.
- Volunteer First Responders: Doubling the tax credit for volunteer firefighters and EMTs from $3,000 to $6,000.
Cost of Living and Support Framework
- Housing Affordability: $15 million for the Home Renovation Tax Credit and $17 million for the Secondary Suite Incentive.
- Income Assistance Lift: A 2% increase to Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) and Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) monthly benefits.
- Utility Arrears Support: A new $1,000 one-time repayable benefit for SIS clients to prevent homelessness due to utility arrears.
