Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck says the past year has been an expensive and difficult one for many families across the province, with affordability pressures, health care disruptions, and wildfires shaping daily life for people from the North to urban centres.
Speaking in a year-end interview, Beck said Saskatchewan continues to report the highest level of financial anxiety in the country, with more families relying on credit cards, savings, or food banks to get by.
“We’re hearing record Food Bank usage. Four in 10 people in this province right now are either dipping into their savings, using credit cards, or going into debt just to put food on the table,” Beck said.
“That’s not just people who have struggled before. It’s seniors, students, and working families, including people working full time or even two jobs.”
Asked to sum up 2025 for residents in Prince Albert and northern Saskatchewan, Beck pointed to uncertainty and upheaval, including the wildfire season that displaced thousands and placed heavy pressure on local communities.
“You think of the wildfire situation, which impacted the North but also impacted Prince Albert,” she said. “The community rallied to provide shelter for displaced people, but it was a tumultuous year for sure.”
Cost of living and rent pressures
Beck said affordability was the issue she heard about most often while travelling the province, particularly rising rents that she said are placing families under increasing stress.
She noted Saskatchewan has seen more than three years of consecutive rent increases, with some tenants facing hikes of 20 to 40 percent.
“It’s not only impacting their ability to put food on the table or gifts under the tree. It’s creating real uncertainty about whether people can keep a roof over their heads,” she said.
Beck said seniors are moving in with adult children, students are struggling to plan for the future, and many renters worry they will never be able to save enough for home ownership.
In response to government claims that Saskatchewan remains one of the most affordable places to live, Beck said the lived experience of families tells a different story.
“To people who hear that message but are falling further into debt or visiting the food bank, I say we hear you and we believe you,” she said. “In a province as wealthy as ours, the benefits need to reach people right across Saskatchewan, not just an elite few.”
She said an NDP government would prioritize rent control and work with municipal, federal, and First Nations governments to accelerate housing construction, adding that the provincial sales tax on construction labour has made building more expensive.
Homelessness and winter pressures
Looking at this year and the continuing winter, Beck said extreme cold has highlighted the connection between heath care and homelessness, particularly as people cycle between hospital discharges, shelter and the street.
“They are absolutely connected, physical health and mental health,” she said. “This problem has been allowed to spiral out of control.”
Beck pointed to the removal of direct rent payments to landlords as a policy decision she said has worsened homelessness and the addictions crisis. She also questioned why more than 2,000 provincially owned rental units remain empty while people are exposed to the cold.
“We cannot keep responding with short-term measures every winter and fail to put people into housing the rest of the year,” she said. “When the province does not step up, those costs fall onto municipalities that are already struggling.”
Health care strain and education challenges
Health care remained a dominant issue throughout 2025, Beck said, citing emergency room closures, staffing shortages, and burnout among front-line workers.
“We hear frustration, burnout, and a feeling that this government has stopped listening,” she said. “Health care workers know where the problems are, and they also have the solutions.”
Beck said retaining existing doctors and nurses must be the first priority, warning that Saskatchewan is losing health care workers at a higher rate than other provinces. She also emphasized the importance of improving access to primary care to reduce pressure on emergency rooms.
“If people cannot see a family doctor, they show up sicker at emergency rooms or have no other option,” she said.
On education, Beck described the past decade as one of underfunding that has failed to keep pace with enrollment growth and inflation.
She said an estimated 1,300 students were sent home during the school day this year due to lack of supports.
“That is a spectacular way to fail our kids,” Beck said. “We are shortchanging an entire generation, and that is incredibly short-sighted.”
Beck said parents should continue advocating for better funding and classroom supports, adding that education was one of the reasons she entered politics after serving as a school board trustee.
Budget, economy, and trade
Beck was sharply critical of the provincial budget, saying it failed to deliver meaningful improvements while adding to debt.
She also addressed trade concerns raised earlier in the year, including the reversal of counter-tariff measures on U.S. steel and talk of potential tariffs on Saskatchewan potash.
“Our most important trading partner has become unreliable,” she said. “That should push us to build the infrastructure we need to diversify markets and get our products to places other than just south.”
Wildfires and northern trust
Reflecting on the wildfire season, Beck said she stands by earlier comments that people in northern Saskatchewan felt abandoned.
She said trust will only be rebuilt through transparent planning and direct consultation with northern communities.
“We need to ensure we are not in the same place next spring,” she said. “That means listening to people who were impacted and making sure their expertise shapes wildfire preparedness.”
Beck said seeing residents of Denare Beach return to their community and restore a welcome sign after evacuations was a moment that stayed with her.
“It reminded me how tough Saskatchewan people are,” she said.
Government leadership and accountability
Beck was critical of the premier’s cabinet shuffle, saying it did not represent meaningful change after nearly two decades of Saskatchewan Party government. She said the shuffle reflected a government that has stopped listening and failed to deliver on key files, including health care, education, and wildfire preparedness.
“This is like shuffling chairs on the Titanic,” Beck said. “After 18 years, this is a government that has stopped listening.”
While Beck was sharply critical of the government throughout the interview, she did point to a few areas where she said the province moved in the right direction.
“I do like the passing lanes; I think that’s been a good development,” Beck said. She also welcomed the signing of the federal child care agreement, adding, “There is still a heck of a lot of work to do.”
Looking ahead
Asked what progress would look like by this time next year, Beck said families should feel real improvements through shorter wait times, better access to doctors, smaller class sizes, and less reliance on food banks.
“When progress happens, people will know it,” she said. “They will feel it in their daily lives.”
For a year-end interview with Premier Scott Moe, please see page 9 of the Dec. 30 edition of the Prince Albert Daily Herald.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
