REGINA, WEYBURN — The activities of the resource sector dominated much of the provincial political attention over the past week.
A major reason had to do with Saskatchewan Mining Week happening the same week as the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show in Weyburn. Those happenings put the spotlight squarely on the activities of those sectors of the economy to start the month of June.
Last Monday, June 1, saw the launch event for Mining Week happen at the University of Saskatchewan, where Minister of Energy and Resources Chris Beaudry took part. The Saskatchewan Mining Association organized the event.
On June 3, the main activities of the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show got started in Weyburn, with Premier Scott Moe on stage to present the 2026 Saskatchewan Hall of Fame inductees, as well as Southeast Saskatchewan Legends.
Moe government ministers were in Weyburn that morning for a cabinet meeting, followed by a chance to meet and greet those in the oil and gas sector. Several NDP MLAs were also there, and there were also notable appearances by federal politicians, including Conservative MP Andrew Scheer and Senator Pamela Wallin, who was a scheduled speaker on Thursday.
While all of those activities were going on, one provincial minister was conspicuous by his absence in Weyburn. Instead, Minister of Trade and Export Development Warren Kaeding was in China on a trade mission where the focus was on Saskatchewan's canola, peas and beef products. The trip was a follow-up to Premier Moe’s trip to China in January.
This coming week, oil and gas is expected to continue to be a focus of the provincial government, with the venue moving west from Weyburn to Calgary.
Premier Moe is scheduled to be in Alberta this week for the Global Energy Show Canada. Moe is headlining as one of the featured speakers at the event.
While the focus of the government lately has continued to be on trade, energy and resources, the opposition New Democrats continue to attack the government on SaskPower rate increases, coal refurbishment and the extension of coal power generation to 2050.
This past week saw a number of NDP media events blasting the government on the “coal catastrophe,” as the Opposition continues to accuse the Sask. Party of a price tag of $26 billion for extending coal. At one of those media events on June 1, NDP SaskPower critic Aleana Young showed off hundreds of pages of heavily redacted documents that they had gotten back after a freedom of information request on the costs.
On Thursday, NDP MLA Hugh Gordon tried to raise the issue at the Public Accounts Committee by moving a motion recommending a special investigation by the provincial auditor into the costs of the coal refurbishment plan. But the Sask. Party majority on the committee defeated that motion.
The following Monday, rural and remote health critic Jared Clarke pointed to a letter from a number of leading health organizations calling on the government to scrap the coal plan, pointing to other jurisdictions, such as Ontario, that moved away from coal years earlier.
As the final days of spring continue to tick away, and after a flurry of recent announcements — most notably from the federal government — following the end of the session, political activity is beginning to noticeably slow down in the province as MLAs focus on their home communities.
But there are some highlights still to come on the calendar. Expected to happen in the coming weeks is the release of the Crowns’ annual reports, which is likely to provide further political fallout and commentary.
As well, there is word that a date has been set for the release of the latest provincial auditor’s report, and that is to happen June 23.
There is one other big date coming up on the calendar: July 1. In addition to being Canada Day, that is also the date the CUSMA trade agreement comes up for review, and all of the trade implications associated with that. Expect plenty of political fireworks, in addition to the real fireworks.
