The 2025-2026 Saskatchewan Budget
The recently re-elected government led by Premier Scott Moe delivered the 2025-26 budget earlier today. It is the 18th budget delivered by the Saskatchewan Party since forming government in 2007. Despite economic uncertainties which have been plaguing public finances in other jurisdictions, Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Jim Reiter delivered a budget projecting a surplus of $12.1 million. Total revenue is forecast to be $21.1 billion in 2025-26, an increase of $1.2 billion (6.0 per cent) from the 2024-25 Budget. Total expenses are predicted at $21 billion, an increase of $909 million from the 2024-25 budget, the province said.
Unlike some other provinces, Saskatchewan did not include contingency funding to respond to the threat of US tariffs. Premier Moe responded to this by noting that it would not be prudent to borrow prudent to borrow unnecessarily and incur interest, and rather, respond if the need arises.
The budget themes and certain notable expenditures are as follows:
Affordability
- Taking action to ensure the province remains the most affordable place in Canada to live, work, raise a family and start a business.
- The taxation changes introduced in the 2025-26 Budget, including the initiatives in The Saskatchewan Affordability Act, provide over $250 million in tax savings this year. This is in addition to the more than $2 billion in affordability measures in every budget.
- Reducing income taxes for every resident, family and small business in Saskatchewan.
- Making life more affordable for seniors, families with children, persons with disabilities, caregivers, new graduates, first-time homebuyers and people renovating their homes.
- Reducing education property tax mill rates across all property classes.
Health Care
- Record funding of $15.7 billion since 2024-25 prioritizes the need for better access and more responsive care for Saskatchewan residents.
- Delivering better access for:
- Acute, emergency and primary care;
- Continuing care; and
- Mental health and addictions services.
- Investing to help connect every Saskatchewan resident to a primary health care provider and accelerate the hiring of health care workers.
Education
- More than $5 billion invested in K-12 education since 2024-25 to meet enrolment growth and provide classroom supports for Saskatchewan students.
- $130 million to fund the new teacher bargaining agreement and address the pressures of growth and the challenges facing today’s classrooms.
- Delivering 50 more specialized support classrooms to help address challenging behaviours.
- Investing to help enhance kindergarten to Grade 3 literacy, as well as support early learning and child care.
Community Safety
- $2.0 billion invested in delivering community safety in Saskatchewan since 2024-25.
- Increasing community safety with approximately 100 new municipal police officers and 14 officers dedicated to reducing crime by targeting nuisance properties.
- Enhancing security at the border with the United States with provincial law enforcement officers.
Fiscal Responsibility
In addition to the surplus, revenue and expense forecasts noted earlier, budget documents also state that Saskatchewan has the second lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio among provinces in the country. The province also touts having the second highest credit rating among the provinces when the ratings from the three major agencies – Moody’s Investors Service, Morningstar DBRS and S&P Global – are considered.
Conclusion
The expected increase in government revenues this year are attributable to an anticipated increase in potash revenue and provincial sales tax (PST) revenue due to ongoing economic growth, increased population and strong construction activity. This increase year-over-year is forecast to be $726 million.
Corporate income tax revenue is projected to be $1.7 billion, an increase of $450 million (37.2 per cent) from the 2024-25 Budget and $22 million (1.3 per cent) from the third-quarter forecast. This reflects significant growth in the forecast of national corporate taxable income and a lower proportion of taxable income eligible for the small business rate.
Additional budget information can be found at the following link: 2025-26 Budget Summary