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The spectre of the City of Regina’s budget crunch is hanging over other discussions at city hall, as councillors and administration look for ways to bring in additional revenue.
On Wednesday, Executive Committee received the annual report of the Events, Tradeshows, and Conventions Fund, outlining the grants the fund provided to several events and their estimated economic impact.
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In 2025, the city handed out $195,000 of the fund’s $375,000 budget for the Grind, Skills Canada Competition, Canoe Kayak Sprint National Championship, Sport Hosting Experience Event and Conference, and Canadian Western Agribition.
The remainder of the budget, as well as a large portion of the fund’s reserve, totalling $620,000 in cash and in-kind, went to the Vanier Cup, the 2028 Can-Am Police Fire Games, and a multi-sport event in 2030 that is still in the bid process.
Chief Financial Officer Daren Anderson told the committee hosting these events brings revenue to other levels of government through taxes, but not to the city.
“The city does not have a way to directly reimburse that stuff, and it is a struggle,” Anderson said. “It’s a struggle internally to say, how can we get back, so it’s not just the taxpayers of the city that are putting our portion in.”
Anderson is encouraging creative suggestions in working with the province to come up with additional ways for the city to generate more revenue.
“The good (an event) brings to the city is good, as it supports the property taxes. But I would love it if we could have a sales tax of some sort so we could participate directly.”
Deputy City Manager Jennifer Johnson added the city may get an indirect benefit from the revenue-sharing the province provides the city, and which may increase if events generate extra provincial sales tax revenue.
She also stressed such events result in additional spending in local businesses, which benefits the city overall.
The fund report says economic impact from an event like Agribition can be as high as $69 million, or $10 million generated by hosting Skills Canada.
Johnson told the committee the city could miss out on such events if it did not commit grant funding in partnership with Tourism Saskatchewan and the Regina Hotel Association.
Not included in the report was the grant for the 2027 Grey Cup, recently awarded to Regina. Johnson told the committee the total from the city will be $1.5 million, but a report is expected soon on how that contribution will be made.
