Rising rent and falling vacancy rates are making life difficult for employees moving into Estevan’s resource boom.

According to the latest numbers from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the city at the heart of Saskatchewan’s oil patch has the most expensive rent in the province, averaging $1,104 for a two-bedroom suite.

That’s just $9 less than the comparable average price in Calgary ($1,113), and $106 dollars cheaper than Vancouver ($1,210) which holds the most expensive rent in the country.

People who are moving to Regina or starting out on their own are caught between a lack of rental housing and skyrocketing house prices.

So who are the people looking for places to rent in Regina?

When it comes to managing the population boom that comes with an oil boom, Saskatchewan can learn from Fort McMurray's mistakes.

That is the focus of a three part series on Global National this week.

Global Alberta correspondent Francis Silvaggio joined Regina's Morning News to talk about the series.

While rental vacancy rates are falling all over the province Regina remains a virtual wasteland when it comes to apartment availability.

The city's rental apartment vacancy rate has been at or below one per cent for nearly four years. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's spring rental market report shows the rental picture continues to get worse, falling from 0.7 per cent in April 2011 to 0.6 per cent at the end of April 2012.

The latest outlook from the Royal Bank predicts Saskatchewan's economy will continue to thrive.

RBC's quarterly forecast says solid gains in agriculture, mining and construction are the reasons.

The economists expect our economy to grow by three point seven percent this year and three point nine next year.

Craig Wright with RBC says strong investment and demand for our province's resources are responsible for the economic strength.

Despite this weekend's fatal crash on Highway 7, which claimed the life of three people from British Columbia, there are no immediate plans to either twin the busy freeway or add a passing lane.

The provincial government is currently, "focused on completing the twinning of Highway 11 between Saskatoon and Prince Albert," said assistant deputy minister of operations Ted Stodd with the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure.

The Meewasin Valley Authority (MVA) on Friday approved the concept plan for the new River Landing office complex, part of the $250-million hotel-condo-office megaproject which is expected to get underway later this summer.

The approval came with the condition that the final details of the plan be endorsed by both the MVA and the city’s administration.

Recent changes to the Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program are having a big impact on those who use it.

It used to be Saskatchewan program had less red tape than other provinces but new rules now limit applications to one per household. The previous system had no cap at all.

The Mayor of Calgary has a few tips for Saskatchewan’s rapidly growing cities and how to deal with urban sprawl.

Naheed Nenshi  said to infill existing neighborhoods the city should encourage high density living in downtown areas.

“The Market deals with that. You make it easy for people to build condo towers and people build condo towers,” said Nenshi.
He also suggests far flung neighborhoods be built in a thoughtful way that’s easy to serve by transit.

BHP Billiton is working to clear up speculation and headlines that suggest that projects, such as the Jansen potash mine, east of Saskatoon, could be delayed.

"The headlines, 'projects put on hold,' definitely don't apply to Jansen and I'm not sure that any of our projects have put on hold," said Chris Ryder, the vice-president of external affairs for BHP.