Sarah Mills: Foreign airlines should be allowed to operate in Canada
Sarah Mills says a new report by Canada's competition bureau should be required reading. Flights in Canada are dominated...
The past fiscal year was not as easy for Saskatchewan’s big Crown Corporations than it has been in the past.
Money came in and dividends made but for a variety of reasons revenues were reduced in some cases.
Read more:
- Sask. Crown Corporations working to deal with wildfire damage
- Sask. to extend coal power, despite federal push on emissions
For the first time, the Saskatchewan Party government released all its Crown corporation reports in one day, with reporters facing an hours-long tech briefing. In the past, the reports were released separately over one or two weeks.
At the briefing, the government was quick to point out the benefits that people in the province gain from the Crowns.
“Saskatchewan’s Crown sector continues to support the continued growth of our province’s economy through buying local, investing in infrastructure, and delivering essential services to families, communities, businesses and industry,” Crown Investments Corporation (CIC) Minister Jeremy Harrison said.
“Our Crown corporations worked diligently in 2024-25 to deliver some of the most affordable utility costs in the country. The Crowns’ record investments in building and maintaining systems continue to support service reliability, local economies and the demand from growth across the province.”
All told, a total of $240 million in dividends was paid to the General Revenue Fund.
SaskTel
Despite always being seen as the strongest Crown, SaskTel is facing come stiff competition.
More customers are shifting away from landline phones and cable services choosing instead to go with other wireless and streaming services and companies.
How that will impact customer pricing isn’t yet known.
“We are going to have work on being an efficient company. We are going to have to see what the rates come out as, the final rates, with that decision,” said Director of Corporate Affairs, Jeff Welke.
Financial results for the 2024-25 fiscal year include net income of $82.2 million and operating revenues of $1,364.9 million.
SaskTel’s revenue is composed primarily of wireless network services and equipment revenue (49.5 per cent), fixed broadband and data services (23.4 per cent), wireline communication services (10.6 per cent), and maxTV service (7.2 per cent).
SaskPower
SaskPower made $76 million dollars, over $100 million less than last year.
It continues to face pressure on its infrastructure as it tries to replace an aging system and meet climate requirements into the future.
SaskPower’s spending included $555 million to repair and upgrade aging generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and $855 million on growth projects, such as new generation facilities and expanded grid capacity.
About $87 million was spent on other strategic investments, such as the Regina Operations and Maintenance Complex to ensure it is replaced when needed.
“Our company continued to prioritize local and Indigenous vendors as we worked to modernize and grow our power system during the past year,” SaskPower President and CEO Rupen Pandya said.
“As we build a system that provides reliable and affordable power for all, our path forward will continue to focus on meaningful engagement with customers, Indigenous rightsholders as well as business and industry stakeholders across Saskatchewan.”
As for the impact all this will have on rates, Pandya maintained the Crown tries to keep increases to a minimum.
SaskEnergy
In 2024-25, SaskEnergy recorded a net income before unrealized market value adjustments of $82 million, compared to $55 million the year before.
The increase is primarily driven by year-over-year increases in delivery and transportation revenues, as well as higher customer contributions to capital projects.
At that same time, SaskEnergy invested $171 million in system expansion and reliability initiatives to serve new customers.
SGI
Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) faced economic pressures caused by rising claim costs, inflation, higher vehicle repair costs and extreme weather.
The Auto Fund, which covers basic insurance for all vehicles in the province, is a self-sustaining entity that operates on a break-even basis over time. It saw $1.170 billion in total net claims incurred and $1.127 billion in gross premium written.
SGI CANADA reported a solid financial performance, achieving net income of $43.2 million.
— with files from Will Mandzuk
Read more:
