Saskatoon prepares for Shoal Lake and Red Earth Cree Nation flood evacuees

The City of Saskatoon is getting its emergency management resources ready to help evacuees from flooding in Northern Saskatchewan.

According to Pamela Goulden-McLeod, director of emergency management, the Red Cross contacted the city on Monday with a notification that up to 1,000 evacuees from Shoal Lake and Red Earth Cree Nation would be heading towards Prince Albert and Saskatoon.

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“We’re still waiting for an update on where they found hotels, and how many people are here. In addition, we also also have residents from English River First Nation who aren’t evacuated, but because of the flooding that has impacted their road they can’t get back home, and so they’re here in Saskatoon right now,” she said.

According to a news release posted on social media by Red Earth Cree Nation Government, record flooding along the Shell and Carrot rivers has forced evacuations of several northern First Nations communities.

River flows on Monday on the Carrot River at Smokey Burn exceeded river gauge capacity and briefly forced it offline, according to the news release, citing information from the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA).

Floodwaters from the Carrot River cover low-lying land near Smoky Burn as flows reached record levels this week. (Shayne MacDonald/ Water Security Agency)

The previous record set at that station was in 1972, while river peak isn’t expected to hit until May 9.

Goulden-McLeod said right now the flooding is a fast moving situation, and her department has a good relationship with many communities and governments.

“We might get half an hour, or an hour (notice), but sometimes that decision is made and they have to get people out to really focus on on life safety,” she added.

While it’s up to local authorities to find and assign accommodations, the City of Saskatoon helps as a sort of designated lead to connect them to other resources.

“What we do is try to help provide information to them about recreational opportunities in Saskatoon, but we do activate our Emergency Operations Centre and we have lots of partners who are involved in that — fire department, Medavie Health Services, SHA, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA),” she said.

During the 2025 wildfire season there were 8,000 evacuees in Saskatoon at its peak, whereas the “average” number may hover around 2,000.

According to Mayor Cynthia Block, Saskatoon is well known for its ability to support evacuees, but this year is the earliest an evacuation has been deployed to the city.

The Prince Albert Grand Council also activated its emergency operations centre on Tuesday, with representatives from Saskatchewan First Nations Emergency Management and SPSA to coordinate support and monitor rapidly changing conditions.

Officials said they are also working closely with the Canadian Red Cross to prepare for the emergency and support evacuated members as they register for assistance.

— with files from PANow’s Susan McNeil

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