Saskatchewan introduces budget with spending hikes but also $819-million deficit

REGINA — Saskatchewan has introduced a new budget that avoids tax hikes and program cuts but carries with it a big deficit.

Finance Minister Jim Reiter tabled the 2026-27 budget on Wednesday. It projects a $819-million deficit this year with more deficits in the years that follow.

Reiter said the province is not raising taxes or cutting services.

“We chose to protect Saskatchewan,” Reiter told reporters before introducing the budget in the legislature.

“We could have increased some taxes. We could’ve not put as much funding into key areas like health care. We decided now is not the time to be doing that.”

Global uncertainty, including tariffs from the United States and other countries and the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, is also weighing on the books, he added.

His government is also planning to reduce the public service by three per cent through attrition, focusing on unfilled positions behind the front lines.

“We are not going to be handing out pink slips,” Reiter said. “This (will apply) if somebody retires; this is if somebody is willingly leaving their position to go somewhere else.”

Debt is forecast to be $43.5 billion and debt financing costs are expected to be $1.2 billion.

The budget shows the province plans to spend an extra $1.2 billion, mainly for education and health care while providing benefits and tax incentives for families struggling to pay bills and put food on the table.

Health care is getting about a five per cent boost in funding for a total budget of $8.4 billion. The province says the extra dollars stem from a plan to hire more nurse practitioners, adding hospital beds, lowering wait times and expanding virtual appointments.

It is also working toward completing 500 addiction treatment spaces and planning new urgent care centres.

Bashir Jalloh, the president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local 5430, called the budget a missed opportunity to address burnout and staffing shortages in the health care system.

“To be very blunt, it is very disappointing,” Jalloh said. “We did not see anything that would address the workforce crisis.”

On affordability, the budget says it will fulfil a promise the Saskatchewan Party government made in 2024 to lower personal income taxes. The province estimates families will save about $200 million this year by no longer paying the tax on their first $65,000 of income.

The budget says Saskatchewan’s economy remains healthy, putting it in a strong position to generate those revenues needed to support public services.

Revenues are projected to be up by $360 million, largely due to the province receiving more provincial sales taxes. However, Saskatchewan expects fewer dollars from natural resources.

The budget says oil revenues are expected to be lower, though it anticipates more income from potash alongside stable uranium revenue.

The province is spending $2.5 billion on education, an increase of 2.6 per cent. It says more work is underway to add specialized support classrooms, along with plans for building new schools.

Samantha Becotte, the president of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, said the spending increases don’t match the rate of inflation and worries it could lead to cuts in some school divisions.

“It just means that kids are more at risk to experiencing challenges in their schools,” Becotte said.

Shawn Davidson, the president of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, said the budget is in line with what they were expecting but said it doesn’t keep up with inflationary pressures.

On policing, the province is planning to spend $310 million to support RCMP and First Nations forces. There is also more funding to hire more officers under the province’s marshals service.

Total capital spending is $4.3 billion, down by $313 million from the year prior.

Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck said the budget is bad news for residents. “Everything your family needs is more expensive and there’s no new cost-of-living relief in this budget,” Beck said.

New Democrats have called on the province to cut the gas tax as the Iran war has pushed up prices at the pump.

The NDP has also said the government can’t be trusted with the numbers, as they promised a surplus in the previous fiscal year.

The current fiscal year’s budget, which wraps up at the end of the month, is set to record a $1.2-billion deficit despite the province initially projecting a $12-million surplus.

“Let’s open the books,” Beck said.

“The people of this province don’t always get full value or get value from the money that’s been spent.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2026.

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press