REGINA — Saskatchewan is posting an $819-million deficit in its 2026-27 budget released this afternoon in the legislature.
The budget handed down by Finance Minister Jim Reiter on Wednesday afternoon has been billed as protecting Saskatchewan people, with the government pointing to a focus on commitments to lower taxes, improved access to health care, safer communities and infrastructure investments.
At an embargoed news conference prior to his address in the assembly, Reiter said the budget is being presented at a time of global geopolitical turmoil, where tariffs and the conflict in the Middle East have had an impact on the economy.
For weeks, the government had spoken publicly about the pressures facing this year’s budget, and the choice that was on the table.
“While Saskatchewan’s strong and diverse economy puts us in a better position than most, we’re not immune,” said Reiter.
“As we prepared the 2026-27 budget we had a choice: raise taxes, cut services or protect Saskatchewan. We chose to protect Saskatchewan.”
Reiter also told reporters the government has listened to Saskatchewan residents on the top two concerns: affordability and health care.
“This budget addresses both,” said Reiter. “It protects Saskatchewan families by lowering taxes to make life more affordable and protects patients by investing in the Patients First Health Care Plan announced by the Premier last week, to ensure everyone can get the right care in the right place at the right time through.”
Here are highlights of the budget presented by Reiter on Wednesday afternoon:
The balance sheet
Despite Opposition pre-budget fears of tax hikes or program cuts, those were not in abundance in the budget document — though there is a paredown coming to the public service, and some fee and rate hikes have been announced in recent weeks, most notably for SaskPower and SGI.
What is obvious is spending. On the balance sheet, the budget projects $21.4 billion in revenue compared to $22.2 billion in expenditures.
The deficit comes as no surprise. Many had predicted it for weeks, but the budget forecast falls short of the predictions of a $1-billion deficit that had been floated by members of the Opposition.
But according to the Q3 numbers released on Wednesday, the deficit has already gone over $1 billion. The government estimates the current deficit at $1.21 billion, up $783.1 million from midyear. Officials point to revenue decreases from the SaskPower removal of the carbon tax, and a decrease from oil and gas, but revenue from potash and other own-source revenue is up.
The projected $819-million deficit is an improvement from the Q3 projection. The government is projecting a return to balance in four years.
On a per capita basis, the deficit amounts to $641 per person, which the government points out is lower than provinces like British Columbia at $2,346 per person.
Affordability focus
On affordability, the budget will contain more than $2.5 billion in annual affordability measures. It will also implement year two of the Saskatchewan Affordability Act provisions. The province says personal, spousal, equivalent-to-spouse and child tax exemptions, and the seniors’ supplement, will increase by $500 each again this year, and the Saskatchewan Low-Income Tax Credit will be increased another five per cent, over and above annual indexation.
The budget is also maintaining the small business tax rate permanently at one per cent, which the province estimates will save businesses $50 million annually in taxes.
The province is doubling the Active Families Benefit, going from $4 million to $8 million, with the increase going toward doubling the income threshold from $60,000 to $120,000 per year and doubling the benefit amount from $150 to $300 per child, or $200 to $400 for children with disabilities.
The government says the federal carbon tax will continue to be removed from customers’ bills.
Overall capital
For 2026-27, the Saskatchewan Capital Plan (Capital Plan) is budgeted at $4.3 billion, down from $4.6 billion in last year’s budget. This includes nearly $1.8 billion in Executive Government infrastructure to build new schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities, roads and other infrastructure.
In capital projects, the government says it will invest $17.5 billion over the next four years in projects such as health facilities, schools, municipal infrastructure, highways, roads and provincial parks, among others.
Health care
On health care, the budget will provide funding in line with the new Patients First Health Care Plan that was recently announced.
The budget will include a record funding commitment for health care of $8.5 billion, up $393 million or nearly five per cent. It will go toward actions including expanded scope of practice for nurse practitioners, expanded urgent care centres, recruitment and training increases, expanded MRI, CT and PET-CT scans, and stabilization of emergency departments.
The budget also addresses mental health and addictions, with expanded access to services. It commits to opening approximately 200 more addictions treatment spaces to reach the government’s goal of creating 500 new spaces.
On the capital side, the budget calls for a $635.7-million total for hospitals, long-term care homes, urgent care centres and technology. Major investments for 2026-27 include ongoing construction of the Prince Albert Victoria Hospital acute care tower; Regina Specialized Long-Term Care; La Ronge Long-Term Care; Grenfell Long-Term Care; Royal University Hospital’s ICU expansion; construction start for the Saskatoon Cancer Patient Lodge; expansion of Complex Needs Facilities; six new youth detox beds in Saskatoon; completion of the Saskatoon Urgent Care Centre; planning for new urgent care centres in Moose Jaw, North Battleford and Prince Albert, as well as second centres in Regina and Saskatoon; new capital funding for a Regina-based Multiple Sclerosis Clinic; and ongoing planning for projects including Yorkton Regional Health Centre, Rosthern Hospital, Esterhazy Integrated Care Facility, and Battlefords and District Care Centre.
Community safety commitments
In community safety, the budget commits to enhanced law enforcement. Funding includes $310 million to support Saskatchewan RCMP operations and First Nations policing, an increase of $49.7 million, and the introduction of a new Small Town and Rural Policing Grant Program. It also includes additional funding for the Saskatchewan Marshals Service and increased workforce capacity for the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol.
As announced at the SARM convention, Municipal Revenue Sharing is set at $392.4 million, a record amount, up 8.5 per cent from last year.
The province is also doubling the Volunteer First Responders’ Tax Credit from $3,000 to $6,000.
Social services and homelessness funding
The budget includes a commitment to address homelessness, with plans to create up to 40 new shelter spaces, up to 60 new supportive housing spaces, and expanded trusteeship services.
It also provides Saskatchewan Income Support clients a $1,000 one-time per household utility arrears repayable benefit to help ensure housing stability.
Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability residential support benefits will increase by 10 per cent annually for the next three years.
There is also additional funding for victim services and community-based organizations, with a two per cent increase. A total of $33.5 million is allocated to interpersonal violence programs and services.
Education funding
In education, the budget allocates $2.5 billion in school operating funding, up $62 million.
Commitments include increased funding for 50 specialized support classrooms across the province, bringing the total to 108. The province is also allocating $9 million to enhance school food programs.
The budget includes $119 million to protect post-secondary affordability, including $68 million for the Graduate Retention Program.
Capital investments for 2026-27 include a new joint-use middle/high school in Martensville-Warman, a new school in Shellbrook, and major renovation of Esterhazy High School.
The province also highlighted the renewal of the child-care agreement with the Government of Canada to maintain $10-a-day child care, and a new multi-year post-secondary funding agreement providing three per cent annual increases over four years. Advanced education is receiving a $59-million increase in this year’s budget.
Other areas
For highways, the province is committing $764 million, with $417 million for highway infrastructure.
For capital, $401 million is going to transportation corridors, including twinning Highway 2 north of Prince Albert; twinning and corridor improvements on Highway 5 east of Saskatoon; and completing passing lane projects for Highway 10 between Fort Qu’Appelle and Melville, and Highway 17 north of Lloydminster.
More than $78 million will go toward repairing or rebuilding 13 bridges and multiple culverts, including completing the Highway 2 over Highway 1 overpass project at Moose Jaw and replacing the Highway 955 bridge over the Clearwater River 60 km north of La Loche.
The investment in highways this year calls for 850 kilometres of improvements, bringing the total to more than 7,900 km in seven years.
The agriculture budget will receive a $662.7-million investment, up $37.4 million or six per cent from last year. Of that, $524.3 million, an increase of 8.4 per cent, will go toward business risk management programs, including Crop Insurance and AgriStability.
For Parks, Culture and Sport, the budget includes a $15-million capital investment, with $2.5 million to replace and restore infrastructure lost to wildfires last year.
Funding will remain at $10 million for the Feature Film and Television Production Grant, unchanged from last year.
The government is also looking to manage the size of its workforce with a reduction of about three per cent. The province says it will reduce expenses without eliminating any filled positions and without compromising frontline service, and will carefully review each vacancy to determine whether it must be filled. The focus will be on operational efficiencies rather than job cuts to reduce expenses.
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