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Saskatchewan Polytechnic is one step closer to building its new Saskatoon campus.
On Nov. 27, the school announced that Strathcona Resources donated $1 million towards its Time to Rise campaign, which is raising money for the development of the future Joseph A. Remai campus.
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The $1 million is set to be donated over the next five years and will fund two power engineering classrooms in the new school. In recognition of the donation, Saskatchewan Polytechnic will name the rooms after Strathcona.
With this money, the school reached 70 per cent of its $100-million-capital campaign goal.
From left: Strathcona Resources senior communications adviser, Adrienne Lem, and COO Dale Babiak. (Marija Robinson/650 CKOM)
Strathcona is the “fastest growing pure play heavy oil producer” in North America, according to the company’s COO Dale Babiak.
While this marks the first time the business has donated to the school, Babiak said it’s because the company is now at a stage where it has the ability to invest in technical schools.
Stratchona’s Saskatchewan operations are located in Lloydminster and North Battleford.
Babiak said because the regulations here are advantageous for Strathcona, the business wants to hire local people because they know this province best.
So, for him, this money isn’t just an investment into students –it’s an investment into the company.
“We need those people actually to work in our workforce. We know that we need them today and we’re going to need them for decades to come,” he said about students from Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
Strathcona’s senior communications advisor, Adrienne Lim, echoed that sentiment saying how this donation, “is kind of feeding that pipeline,” by having the company connect with “the future workforce.”
Even with Saskatchewan Polytechnic well on its way to achieving its $100 million campaign goal for the future campus, the school’s CEO Larry Rosia said it’s likely going to take a couple more years before that happens.
But, that doesn’t mean work isn’t getting started in the meantime.
Rosia said there are plans to break ground on the new campus, which will be located beside the University of Saskatchewan, in spring 2026 starting with the Trades and Technology building.
“We have to make room for more students to attend our programs,” he said about why this new school is needed. It will also make the buildings more efficient, “putting students through in a quicker period of time.”
The campus will increase Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Saskatoon enrollment by 30 to 40 per cent, according to Rosia.
