March 20, 2024
Today, Deputy Premier and Finance Minister, Hon. Donna Harpauer, tabled the Government of Saskatchewan’s 2024/25 budget. Titled “Classrooms, Care and Communities,” the budget is heavily investing in Education, Healthcare, Municipal Revenue Sharing and Capital Infrastructure.
This is Minister Harpauer’s seventh, and final budget, as she announced that she would not be running in the next election, expected in October of this year.
The Minister announced record spending in school operating funding, healthcare and municipal revenue sharing for communities, large and small, throughout the province. Municipal revenue sharing is a percentage of the Provincial Sales Tax collected and distributed to communities as an unencumbered grant for those municipal governments to spend it as they see fit.
There are no new taxes or changes to existing ones. The Small Business Tax Rate reduction to one percent is being further extended to June 30, 2025.
The Government is forecasting revenues of $19.9 billion and expenses of $20.1 billion with a projected deficit of $273.2 million for this fiscal year and returning to a small surplus in 2025/26.
Notable highlights:
- Education funding is $3.3 billion, up 8.1%.
- Healthcare funding is $7.6 billion with the Saskatchewan Health Authority receiving $4.7 billion, an increase of 5.6%.
- A Capital budget of $4.4 billion, the largest in the history of the province, including $180 million for the Prince Albert Victoria Hospital, $55 million for the Weyburn General Hospital, $27 million for a La Ronge long-term care home, $22 million for the Regina General Hospital Parkade, $617 million for roads and highways, $2.9 billion for Crown utilities and infrastructure and $210 million for school infrastructure.
- Social Services funding of $1.5 billion, up 7.8%.
- Non-renewable Resource revenues are forecast to be about 13.5% of total revenues due to potash prices moderating, below the 15% government target.
- Introduction of a Clean Electricity Transition Grant and a Small Modular Reactor Investment Fund that will receive revenues from the electricity sector.
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For more information and insights about what these developments mean for the political landscape in Saskatchewan, please reach out to our experts:
Darin Banadyga – Senior Strategy Advisor
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306.213.8211
Theo Bryson – Senior Strategy Advisor
theo@prairieskystrategy.ca
306.537.4465
Kevin Doherty – Vice President
kevin@prairieskystrategy.ca
306.570.7123
Tom Lukiwski – Senior Strategy Advisor
tom@prairieskystrategy.ca
306.501.7933
Bronte Prosser – Strategy Advisor
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306.270.7405
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