Former Prince Albert mill site draws fresh vision from BMI

Arjun Pillai
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Former Prince Albert mill site draws fresh vision from BMI

A new vision is beginning to take shape for the former Prince Albert pulp mill site, but BMI Group says the work ahead will be measured in planning, partnerships, and patience rather than quick promises.

That was the message shared Thursday during a Prince Albert and District Chamber of Commerce luncheon, where BMI strategic advisor Chris Rickett outlined the company’s approach to turning former single-use industrial properties into sites that can support multiple businesses over time.

For Prince Albert, Rickett said the company sees an industrial future.

“We see the site as industrial at its core,” Rickett told reporters after the luncheon.

Rather than chasing one major project to replace what was lost when the mill closed, Rickett said BMI is looking at a broader mix of possibilities that could include forestry, energy, critical minerals, and possibly defence manufacturing.

“We really wanted to share how we’ve done what we’re looking to do at the Prince Albert mill, and how we’ve done it in other communities,” Rickett said. “Our overall thesis is taking these large industrial sites that were kind of single purpose and rethinking them for a diverse number of end users.”

The company has already announced an early partnership with Plum Gas to explore a compressed natural gas facility on the site, but Rickett made clear the broader redevelopment remains in its early stages.

“We’re not here to make big promises and disappoint,” he said. “We’re going to probably go through the next 12 months of just doing planning for the site and exploring some of these opportunities.”

Even so, Rickett said the response in Prince Albert has been encouraging.

“The city and the province have been amazing to work with. The community has been amazing to work with,” he said. “There’s just a bit of buzz about the site.”

Part of the planning process will involve deciding what part of the former mill still has value. Rickett said some existing infrastructure could be reused, including warehouse space with rail access, while other parts may eventually have to come down to make way for new uses.

“There will be elements that will stay,” he said. “But there are likely elements that will come down and are just required to make space for new use.”

Mayor Bill Powalinsky said the city remains encouraged by BMI’s approach and by the way the company has presented its long-term plans.

“It’s more information on what their business approaches, their strategy, so it’s fleshed out, and it’s still as exciting as it was the first time that we met them,” Powalinsky said.

He said the future of the site will depend largely on the kinds of tenants BMI is able to attract but agreed that not every piece of the old mill will fit the next chapter.

“It’s really going to depend on who’s coming in,” the mayor said. “As Chris said, it’s not going to be a revival of a pulp mill.”

The luncheon also gave the Chamber a chance to introduce BMI more fully to the local business community.

Patty Hughes, chief executive officer of the Prince Albert and District Chamber of Commerce, said there had been plenty of questions about BMI since the company arrived in the city, and the event was meant to help answer them.

“I think it’s really important that they’re a new community partner in our business community,” Hughes said. “There was a lot of questions about them.”

Hughes said the presentation also gave local businesses a chance to start thinking about where opportunity may emerge as redevelopment moves forward.

“Oh, absolutely,” she said when asked if some business owners may have seen new possibilities in what they heard.

For now, BMI’s message is cautious but hopeful. The company is not offering a quick fix for one of Prince Albert’s most closely watched industrial properties. Instead, it is pitching a slower rebuild, one that could eventually turn the long-idle site into a more diverse industrial hub tied to the region’s economy.

arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca

NDP presses province on delayed wildfire review as season nears

Arjun Pillai
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NDP presses province on delayed wildfire review as season nears

The Saskatchewan government says a delayed third-party review of last year’s wildfire response was pushed back to allow for more consultation and document analysis, but the NDP says the wait is leaving northern residents without answers as another fire season approaches.

The dispute centres on an MNP review commissioned by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency into the province’s 2025 wildfire response. In a statement Friday, the government said the wildfire season Saskatchewan experienced in 2025 was unprecedented because of its intensity, geographic spread, and duration.

According to the government, the review timeline was first extended to March 31, 2026, after communities and individuals asked to take part through February. The province said the report was then pushed to late spring to give MNP more time to review thousands of SPSA documents and hundreds of interviews.

The government said the delay has not stopped the agency from making changes during the off-season. It said SPSA has completed internal reviews, made improvements to evacuation policies and procedures, increased planning with First Nations, and continued working with Denare Beach residents through the Recovery Task Team program.

But Jordan McPhail, the NDP’s Shadow Minister for Northern Affairs and Forestry, said people in northern Saskatchewan have been waiting too long for accountability after last year’s fires and evacuations.

“I think the main concern that I have is the same concern that most people in Saskatchewan have, and that’s that they want to know that this government has learned from previous mistakes,” McPhail said in an interview with the Daily Herald.

McPhail said the delay matters because wildfire planning should already have been well underway by now.

“These plans should have been starting to be actioned (in) December (or) January of this year,” he said.

McPhail said residents in the North are still dealing with the consequences of last year’s wildfire season, which forced thousands from their homes and triggered widespread concerns about evacuation support and emergency resources.

McPhail also said the Opposition continues to hear that some people displaced by the fires are still living in temporary accommodations, including hotels in places such as Creighton and Saskatoon.

He argued the province’s most urgent task now is making sure SPSA is fully equipped before conditions worsen.

“The single most urgent action again, will be to ensure that the SPSA is properly resourced,” McPhail said, adding that the agency needs trained staff, equipment, aircraft, and a coordinated operations plan that includes northern and Indigenous leadership.

He also said evacuees need more certainty if communities are forced out again this year.

“They can’t be left to their own devices again,” McPhail said.

The NDP has also tied the issue to its proposed Wildfire Strategy Act, which it says would give northern leaders and frontline fire experience a stronger voice in planning and response.

For now, the province says the extra time will result in a better final report. The Opposition says people in the North are still waiting to see whether those assurances will translate into action before smoke returns to the province’s forest.

arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca

Downtown already has traffic, BMI speaker says. The challenge is getting people to stay

Arjun Pillai
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Downtown already has traffic, BMI speaker says. The challenge is getting people to stay

Prince Albert’s downtown does not need more people to find it. It needs more reasons for them to stay.

That was one of the clearest messages to come out of Thursday’s Prince Albert and District Chamber of Commerce luncheon, where BMI strategic advisor Chris Rickett used downtown visit data to argue the city core already has strong activity, but is not fully converting that traffic into spending, longer visits, and after-hours energy.

Rickett said downtown recorded 9.4 million visits in 2025 and about 698,000 unique visitors, with much of that activity tied to weekday routines such as work, errands and services. His conclusion was that the issue is not attracting traffic, but finding ways to get more value from people already coming downtown.

“You don’t need to attract more people to your downtown,” Rickett said during the presentation. “You just have to figure out how to get them to stay longer and spend more money.”

Ricketts’ comments landed at a time when the city is already debating the future of Central Avenue. In March, city administration proposed shifting the streetscape plan from the older one-way concept to a two-way design with parallel parking, slightly wider sidewalks, and a public plaza, arguing it would improve access, wayfinding, and business visibility while addressing aging underground infrastructure.

On Thursday, Rickett said he belived two-way traffic would help downtown by slowing vehicles, making businesses easier to see and reducing confusion for visitors. He stressed that was his own view, not an official BMI position, but he spoke at length about how one-way streets can move traffic efficiently while hurting storefront visibility and spontaneous stops.

“Wherever I go in Canada, I go downtown first,” he said. “I pulled on your main street, Central Avenue, and I was like, ‘This is really cool downtown. It’s really good buildings, it’s got the form’ and then I got down and I saw a Ted Matheson menswear sign. I was like, ‘That’s freaking amazing, I’m gonna stop and turn around’ and I was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s a one-way street.’

“Then I got confused, because I didn’t know if the side streets were one way as well. I don’t know which way to go so I just went down to the river, and we just kept going. That’s an experience from someone who’s coming into your downtown for the first time. It’s confusing.”

Mayor Bill Powalinsky said Rickett’s comments lined up with the direction already being discussed at City Hall.

“Administration brought an amended proposal forward a meeting or two ago to talk about the two-way traffic,” Powalinsky said after the luncheon. “I’m going to say it’s coincidence and great minds think alike.”

Patty Hughes, chief executive officer of the Prince Albert and District Chamber of Commerce, said the data in Rickett’s presentation stood out, especially because it was based on cell phone information showing not just pass-through traffic, but people actually spending time downtown.

“It’s really interesting to see those numbers,” Hughes said. “They do not make business decisions lightly. They make sure they have good data like that.”

Rickett also touched on one of the most difficult issues facing the downtown core when he was asked about homelessness, drugs, and crime. He said Prince Albert is not alone, and argued no city has solved the problem through a single response. Instead, he said, progress depends on coordination between police, social services, housing, mental health and addiction supports, along with efforts to bring more people and more activity back into the core.

“You need more opportunity for success, for people to have things to do,” the questioner said before asking Rickett about solutions. Rickett replied that “no one’s figured it out perfectly” and said the issue is tied to housing, mental health care, enforcement, and the wider economy.

He pointed to downtown Kitchener as one example of a city trying a coordinated approach, with police, business groups, social services and mental health supports sharing information and responding together. But, he said, the deeper answer still comes back to creating opportunity.

“A lot of this is foundational around economic opportunity,” Rickett said. “Yes, we need to look at how we reactivate the site and bring new economic opportunities, and jobs for a lot of these people.”

The downtown discussion was not the formal focus on Thursday’s luncheon, which centred on BMI’s plans for the former pulp mill site. For more on this story, see Saturday’s Daily Herald.

arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca

Cameco gift supports Sask Polytech includes Prince Albert training Program for Indigenous women

Arjun Pillai
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Cameco gift supports Sask Polytech includes Prince Albert training Program for Indigenous women

Saskatchewan Polytechnic received a $5 million boost from Cameco on Thursday, April 2, a donation the school says will support new mining training tools in Saskatoon and a Prince Albert-based program for northern Indigenous women.

The gift, announced at Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Saskatoon campus, will go toward the school’s ‘Time to Rise’ campaign for the new Joseph A. Remai Saskatoon Campus. It will also fund the Cameco Virtual Reality Mine Lab and help pilot an industrial mechanics certificate program through the Prince Albert campus.

The announcement comes as Saskatchewan Polytechnic continues adjusting to enrollment shifts and staffing changes seen over the past year.

In previous reporting by the Daily Herald, changes in international student enrollment were identified as one factor affecting staffing levels, including at the Prince Albert campus.

Against that backdrop, Thursday’s announcement pointed to continued industry investment and support for training tied to Saskatchewan’s mining sector.

Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel said part of the donation is aimed at expanding opportunities for northern and Indigenous students.

“We’re also investing in enhanced support and opportunities for Indigenous northern and northern students. Industrial mechanics, always tough to get. We’re always stealing them from somebody else, and they’re high demand in Western Canada,” Gitzel said. “So this program is going to be through the PA campus”

The donation also builds on a technology angle Saskatchewan Polytechnic has already been developing.

Last fall, the Daily Herald reported the school was expanding virtual reality learning across multiple programs, with administrators saying the technology was being adopted as a safe and immersive way to strengthen hands-on learning. Thursday’s event put that approach at the centre of a major mining announcement.

During the event, Saskatchewan Polytechnic demonstrated a virtual underground mine environment where students can collect safety gear, tag in and out, and practice technical tasks before entering an actual worksite.

The event also featured a local connection through student speaker Melissa Hardlotte, a second-year Mining Engineering Technology student who said she has lived in Prince Albert for the past 18 years.

“Everything changed when I came across the Mining Engineering Technology program. There was an immediate spark in me that made me feel like I’d found where I was meant to be.”

Hardlotte said investment in tools such as the virtual reality mine lab will help future students enter the workforce with more confidence.

“Investments like this, especially in technologies like a virtual reality mining lab, will make a huge difference for students like me.”

“It means we can enter the workforce more confident and be better prepared from day one.”

Saskatchewan Polytechnic president and CEO Larry Rosia said the institution’s long relationship with Cameco has helped connect education with workforce needs in the mining sector.

“In an average year, approximately 400 of our Saskatchewan Polytechnic graduates are hired in jobs in the mining sector.”

The school said the donation brings its ‘Time to Rise’ campaign to 75 percent of its $100 million goal.

arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca

Prince Albert MP to host pancake breakfast and seniors online safety session in Prince Albert

Arjun Pillai
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Prince Albert MP to host pancake breakfast and seniors online safety session in Prince Albert

Prince Albert MP Randy Hoback is inviting residents to a pancake breakfast and seniors online safety session on Friday, April 10, at the Royal Canadian Legion in Prince Albert.

The event begins with a pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Legion, 133 8th Street East. A seniors-focused information session will follow, beginning at 10:30 a.m. with a fraud prevention presentation by Affinity Credit Union. A second presentation on online and internet safety by Sgt. Derek Simonson of the Prince Albert Police Service is scheduled for 11 a.m.

Hoback said the event is meant to help seniors protect themselves from internet scams and fraudsters.

“It’s just a chance to for seniors to get an understanding of what types of threats could be facing them online, and what they can do to prevent any type of scams or threats against them” Hoback said.

He said the breakfast and presentations bring together community outreach and public education. Donations collected during the breakfast will go to the Salvation Army.

“We’re aware of what happened around Christmas time at the Salvation Army burning down, so we’re just looking to help them out,” Hoback said. “It’s a chance to serve the constituents.”

Randy added concerns about scams and online fraud have been coming up often in conversations with seniors, which helped shape the event.

“We’ve been getting a lot of inquiries about different types of scams and things going on online,” he said. “We thought we’d bring in two great partners to provide the latest and greatest, up to date information on what types of scams are going on and how to prevent being a victim of those scams.”

Hoback said scammers continue to shift tactics, but many people are already familiar with some of the common ones, including fake emergency calls involving relatives or pop-up messages telling people to call a number and pay to remove a virus form their computer.

He said the April 10 event is also expected to bet the first in a broader effort to bring similar sessions to other communities across the riding later this year.

“This is the first one,” Hoback said. “We plan to do more in the coming weeks or months ahead here this year in the different communities, to just inform seniors of what types of scams are out there and making sure they can do everything possible to protect themselves from these types of scammers.”

The breakfast is open to everyone, while the presentations are geared toward seniors. Hoback said attendance is limited to 120 people, and registration is required.

People can register by calling 306-953-8622 or online at MPRandyHoback.ca/breakfast. Hoback said the breakfast itself is free, with donations to the Salvation Army encouraged.

“It can be anything from 10 cents to $1,000 can be anything from 10 cents to $1,000 whatever a person wants to give. It’s going to a good cause. And that is the Salvation Army,” he said.

arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca

Snowstorm halts Prince Albert buses as city works to restore limited service

Arjun Pillai
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Snowstorm halts Prince Albert buses as city works to restore limited service

Prince Albert Transit was shut down Wednesday after a heavy spring snowfall forced city crews to focus first on emergency routes before turning to bus routes, with limited service expected to begin Thursday.

Tim Earing, the city’s senior operations manager, said the city’s snow and ice policy requires crews to clear emergency routes first, followed by other priority roads, before bus routes can be brought back into service.

“We have a snow and ice policy that we follow,” Earing said. “So the first, first roads that we need to get clear are our emergency routes, and then we go to our priority routes, and then the second priority is routes, which is the bus.”

Earing said crews were expected to finish the first round of top-priority clearing by Wednesday night and begin work on the next level, which includes transit routes.

“The crews will be pretty close. I would say tonight, in finishing priority ones, we’ll start on priority two,” he said. “So there should be some limited bus service starting tomorrow, I would suspect.”

The shutdown followed one of the more disruptive spring storms the city has seen in recent years, he said. Earing estimated Prince Albert received roughly a foot of snow over a short period of time.

“Well, the emergency routes and the priorities. I mean, I’m not sure exactly how much snow we got. I’m thinking in the neighbourhood of a foot anyway. So it’s a lot of snow to deal with all at one time,” he said.

City staff began work at 5 a.m. Wednesday and were expected to continue until around 8 p.m. before returning again early Thursday.

“The guys, the staff, have been starting at five in the morning,” Earing said. “And, you know, they they time out. We can’t, we can’t run them 24 hours a day. They have lives, and need to have a rest.”

He added: “They’ll be starting again tomorrow at 5 a.m. and we’ll just keep plugging along until, till we get it done.”

Asked whether the city had enough resources to recover quickly, Earing said 13 staff members are dedicated to snow removal and all available equipment was in use.

“Yeah, for sure. I mean, we have a staff of 13 that are dedicated to snow removal. They’re all out working, and the equipment’s all out working,” he said. “So, I mean, yeah, we’re doing the best job that we can with the resources that we have.”

Earing also said residents can help by keeping snow from driveways and sidewalks off the street and by obeying no-parking signs when snow routes are being cleared.

“It’s always helpful for us if they’re not piling their snow, you know, from their driveways and sidewalks on the street,” he said. “And it’s also helpful when we do put up the no parking signs and are going to do a snow route that they don’t park there.”

He said residents with concerns can contact the city’s Solutions Hub.

arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca

Saskatchewan has 42 wildfire detection towers, but no AI camera system, SPSA says

Arjun Pillai
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Saskatchewan has 42 wildfire detection towers, but no AI camera system, SPSA says

After a wildfire season that forced residents in more than 50 communities from their homes, burned nearly three million hectares, and brought in help from across Canada and beyond, Saskatchewan officials say they are entering 2026 more prepared.

But the clearest new detail to emerge form a Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency technical briefing in Prince Albert on Wednesday was about how the province is actually detecting fires. The briefing included remarks from Minister responsible for SPSA Micheal Weger and SPSA Vice-President Steve Roberts.

SPSA Vice President Steve Roberts said Saskatchewan currently has 42 wildfire detection towers, all equipped with cameras, but is not using the kind of AI-assisted smoke detection camera system that has drawn attention in other jurisdictions.

Asked how many wildfire detection towers are currently operational in Saskatchewan, Roberts said the province has 42.

“They’re operated, and they have cameras on all of them, and those are currently our detection staff. Just arrived this week to start their spring training and be prepared to start detecting wildfires from those towers using our camera detection system,” Roberts said.

A follow-up question pointed to camera systems in British Columbia that use artificial intelligence to help detect smoke.

Roberts said Saskatchewan’s current system uses a combination of software and human monitoring.

“So currently we are using a combination we have actual detection staff that monitor the images. However, the actual software behind the program does identify anomalies in the images and triggers those and cues our staff to assess those,” he said.

He said the cameras can flag something that may be smoke, but staff still have to verify whether it is an actual fire start.

“As the cameras pick up things that could be smoke through an algorithm, they will trigger that on the screen so that the operators will actually verify them, confirm or deny that they’re an actual fire start,” Roberts said.

Asked directly whether those were AI-assisted cameras, Roberts replied, “No.”

AI-assisted wildfire camera systems are a newer form of fire detection technology that can help spot possible smoke quickly over large areas and flag it for review. British Columbia has publicly moved in that direction, while Saskatchewan, a province that faces major wildfire risk each season, continues to rely on camera towers, software alerts, and human monitoring. Roberts’ said Saskatchewan’s current system has some automated image analysis, but not the AI-assisted camera approach now being used in B.C.

The briefing came as SPSA and the provincial government looked ahead to the 2026 season while reflecting on one of the most destructive wildfire years in recent memory.

Roberts said Saskatchewan recorded more than 500 wildfires in 2025. He said over 50 municipal and volunteer fire departments helped the agency, while support also came from almost every province and territory, along with U.S states, Mexico and Australia.

He also stressed that many wildfires are preventable. Roberts said about half of all fires in Saskatchewan are caused by people, not lightning or other natural sources.

“It is important to remember that while many areas may be susceptible to wildfire, fires don’t start without an ignition source,” Roberts said. “About half of all fires in this province are human-caused and are entirely preventable.”

That issue also came up when a query was raised about arson charges from last season. Roberts said those investigations had been turned over to the RCMP, and the police would be the ones to provide any further information.

This year, Roberts said conditions are better than they were at the same point in 2025 across much of the province’s forested north and central regions.

“Current moisture data is showing that conditions vary between regions, with the North and Central Saskatchewan seeing good snow recovery and over the winter and cooler temperatures,” he said. “In contrast, the Southwest experience extremely dry and warm weather, with worsening drought conditions and little to no snowpack.”

He said the province is expecting a more typical spring season than last year, but warned that wildfire severity later in the season will depend heavily on heat, wind, rain, and lightning.

Roberts also outlined several changes SPSA says it has made since last year. Among them are earlier seasonal hiring, and eighth long-term helicopter for initial attack, pre registered heavy equipment, formalized agreements to call in volunteer fire departments more easily an imporvements to evacuation processes and the evacuation app.

The agency also provided an update on its aircraft fleet. Roberts said Saskatchewan will again have four retardant tankers in service, including the Q400 air tanker added last year, along with six water-scooping aircraft and seven bird-dog aircraft, though some aircraft are brought online gradually through the season.

The aircraft update also drew follow-up questions, with queries seeking clarity on how many planes are in service now. Roberts said Saskatchewan still has four retardant tankers in the fleet, but only two are currently operating, while the other two are being brought online. He said the province’s water bombers are also phased in over the season rather than all deployed at once.

“So they’ve all been maintained, except two, and those two are currently underway. But they are not operational. They come on operational in waves. Again. We don’t bring them all on at the start of the season. We bring them on over time, and that allows us to ensure we have a fleet available at both the start and the end of the season,” Roberts said.

The minister responsible for SPSA, Michael Weger said the agency remains focused on “preparedness, coordination, and keeping people and communities safe.”

For a briefing billed as a look ahead to the coming season, the most striking takeaway was that Saskatchewan’s wildfire detection network remains rooted in camera towers, software alerts, and human review, not AI-assisted camera technology. The briefing also included updates on improved spring conditions in the north and central regions, persistent dryness in the southwest, aircraft readiness, and a series of preparedness changes SPSA says it has made since last year.

arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca

Airport warns nearby residents may hear bird deterrent noise during migration season

Arjun Pillai
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Airport warns nearby residents may hear bird deterrent noise during migration season

Prince Albert Glass Field Airport is advising nearby residents they may hear occasional popping noises around the airfield as staff step up wildlife deterrence efforts during the spring migrating season.

The city-issued media release describes the effort as part of the airport’s wildlife management plan, which is aimed at reducing hazards to aircraft caused by birds and other animals on or near airport grounds.

Airport Manager Todd Schultz said the plan is not new, and in fact, remains in place throughout the year. Schultz said the release was issued now because migratory bird activity becomes a bigger concern at this time of year, even though wildlife monitoring continues in all seasons.

“Certified aerodromes such as this one are regulated by Transport Canada and are required to implement a comprehensive airport wildlife management plan,” Schultz said. “The purpose of the plan is to identify any hazards associated risks and implement control measures to mitigate any risk to aviation safety.

“The plan is in effect for the entire year,” he added. “It never ceases, because throughout the winter, there can be a variety of other mammals—foxes and coyotes and things like that, so it’s not just migratory birds that we’re interested in tracking. But at these times of the year during the migratory seasons, of course, that becomes a concern.”

While the release mentions pyrotechnic tools such as shell crackers, flares, firecrackers and rockets, Schultz said those are not expected to be the main source of activity.

“We primarily utilize a propane-powered cannon so you’re not going to see very much pyrotechnic activity. It is a tool that we do have at our disposal,” he said.

Schultz said those devices are moved to different parts of the airfield and usually operate during higher-risk periods, especially around sunrise and sunset.

“They are rotated through various locations around the airfield, they’re on a timer system, so they’ll release a popping sound, at higher risk times of the day, typically dawn and dusk,” he said. “There’s a few hours in the morning and in the evening that nearby residents may hear a faint popping sound, but I wouldn’t expect it’s going to be much of the city, just some of those residences that are somewhat adjacent to the airport.”

He said the concern is greatest during takeoff and landing, when aircraft pass through the airspace where birds are most commonly present.

“There are bird activities generally restricted to 3000 feet and below. So during those takeoff and landing phases of a flight, they’re transitioning through those altitudes where birds can be present,” Schultz said. “So, that’s the overarching goal of the wildlife management plan, is to deter those birds away from the airport to safer areas.”

Schulz said there have been no recent bird strikes or close calls at the Prince Albert Airport.

He added that some quieter deterrent methods are also used, including grass maintenance and fence-mounted bird bristles, but the airport’s main concern remains safety.

“Well, we just remind everybody that that the airport’s first and foremost priority is aviation safety. So we we take that very seriously, but at the same time, we recognize that some of these activities do pose a nuisance, so we make our best attempt to keep them to a minimum,” he said.

arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca

Tight supply continues to push up home prices in Prince Albert

Arjun Pillai
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Tight supply continues to push up home prices in Prince Albert

Prince Albert homebuyers are facing fewer choices and rising pressure this spring as low inventory continues to tighten the local resale market, according to the latest Saskatchewan Realtors Association market update and a local realtor.

The provincial association said Saskatchewan’s residential market remains under supply pressure, with persistently low inventory pushing benchmark prices to record highs. In Prince Albert, that trend is showing up in fewer new listings, limited supply, and stronger competition when desirable homes hit the market.

“The main takeaway from this last month’s residential market statistics is that we are seeing a continued pressure on supply in jurisdictions across Saskatchewan, which is putting real pressure on Saskatchewan’s affordability advantage when it comes to buying a home,” said Tyler Hudy, Vice-President of public affairs and communications for the Saskatchewan Realtors Association.

Hudy said low inventory remains the main force behind rising benchmark prices. He said Prince Albert is part of that broader provincial pattern.

“If we were to look at Prince Albert, for example, new listings are down 28 percent year over year, and they’re 31 percent below the 10-year average,” Hudy said. “Prince Albert, sitting just below three months of supply, at 2.8 months of supply.”

He said the benchmark price in Prince Albert was up 3.9 percent year over year, while sales activity remained steady, a sign that demand has not disappeared even as affordability becomes more difficult.

Local realtor Conrad Kruger of EXP Realty said the shortage is visible on the ground.

“Yes, they are,” Kruger said when asked whether buyers in Prince Albert are seeing fewer choices than normal.

He said the pressure is especially sharp in the price range where many first-time and moderate-income buyers are shopping.

“The most sales you did say is, let me just check. Is it like the 200,000 to $300,000 range? That’s where you see the most,” Kruger said while referring to the stats infront of him.

When well-priced homes in that range appear, he said buyer activity can move quickly.

“When a good listing comes up, there seems to be a lot of buyers running there” Kruger said.

He said Prince Albert has not historically seen as many delayed offer presentation tactics as larger centres such as Saskatoon, but that is beginning to change as the market tightens.

For first-time buyers, both Hudy and Kruger said affordability is becoming a bigger challenge. Hudy said buyers who saved based on older price levels may now find those savings do not stretch as far.

“You may have been saving for the last two or three years based off of a benchmark price that you know you assumed was the case in 2015 or even 2025, or even 2024, and what you’ve seen is that price increase anywhere from four to five to six, and in some cases, and in some places in Saskatchewan, 11 and 12 per cent so what you saved a year ago might not actually be the reality today,” Hudy said.

Kruger said entry-levels buyers are competing in the same lower-priced segment that attracts the most attention.

“You know they can afford, like, $100,000 to $300,000 but that’s what everybody wants,” Kruger said. “The basics of economics is low inventory, high demand, and that puts upward pressure on the market.”

Kruger added that buyers looking for bargains in sold homes may be disappointed.

“The average sale price to the listing price is almost like 98 per cent,” he said. “There’s no real bargains, if you want to put it that way, in decent homes.”

The latest housing market pressure comes as Prince Albert has already been grappling with broader housing concerns. The city has been working on a housing strategy and council has also considered land sales meant to support future residential development. But both Hudy and Kruger suggested those longer-term measures will not bring immediate relief to buyers already navigating the resale market.

“I think it’s still further down the road,” Kruger said of long-term housing plans.

Hudy said more supply remains the clearest path toward a more balanced market, whether through more listings coming online or faster home construction.

“We’re optimistic that as we kind of enter April and into May, that new listings will increase,” Hudy said. “But there’s really nothing to indicate that this upward trend in benchmark price is going to stall out.”

arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca

Reeve sees agro development as boost for RM growth

Arjun Pillai
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Reeve sees agro development as boost for RM growth

A new Agro-development in the RM of Prince Albert is being welcomed by local officials as a sign of growth and improved access for farmers, truck traffic, and commercial users in the area.

Reeve Tyler Tait said the project’s location at the junction of Highway 2 and Elevator Road could make it easier for trucks and agriculture producers to reach the site without having to travel through the city.

“I think it’ll help with their new location,” Tait said. “Because of the highway access, that junction is becoming busier now because of the Co-op moving in there. We’ve also been working on paving the access road beside it, so that’ll give trucks and agriculture producers better access to the site without having to travel on grid roads and into the city.”

Tait confirmed the development is located at Highway 2 and Elevator Road in the RM of Prince Albert.

Lake Country Co-op director of marketing and community relations Brittney Rosenberg said Phase 2 will add a 38,000-square-foot retail and warehouse facility designed to meet the needs of today’s farmers.

She said the new phase will also include a cardlock fuel station with 24/7 pay-at-the-pump access, along with washrooms, showers, and overnight parking. Rosenberg said the cardlock will offer multiple grades of gasoline and diesel, including marked and unmarked fuels, as well as diesel exhaust fluid dispenser. She added that Phase 1, the fertilizer blending facility, was completed in the fall and has an 8,400-ton capacity.

“By bringing together equipment, crop inputs, feed and fuel, all in one location, we’re helping producers really save time, streamline their operations and stay competitive in an evolving industry,” Rosenberg said.

The reeve said the project matters not only because of what is being built, but because of what it could do for the movement of ag products and commercial traffic on the edge of Prince Albert.

There were not many major municipal hurdles tied to the project, he added, although the RM did make a rezoning change to allow for commercial use.

Aside from that rezoning work, the municipality was pleased to see the investment move ahead in the RM.

In his view, the project fits with the kind of growth council wants to attract.

“It just means that we’re open to commercial business,” he said. “We’re hoping with the mining announcements in the north and the hospital announcement in the city that more commercial business will be attracted to the RM and that we’re a great place to build.”

The RM also has tax incentives in place and commercial property available for development, which he believes helps make the municipality attractive for future investment.

Tait also said the project should bring practical benefits for farmers and rural residents by making agricultural products easier to access closer to the highway.

“In practical terms, it means that they have better access to the ag products they need,” Tait said. “They don’t have to travel into the city with their grain trucks and semis to get product anymore. It’s all available right off the highway.”

That access point, he suggested, could become increasingly important as more development takes shape in and around the RM.

Tait said council does not rank one investment above another, but added it was glad to see a development of this scale choose the RM as its location.

“No development in our eyes is better than the next. I mean, they’re all a great investment in the RM, and we value them all equally,” he said. “We were happy that the Co-op chose our RM as their location for the new site.”

He said the municipality hopes the project will eventually serve a wider area beyond its own boundaries.

“I think it’ll serve a wider area beyond the RM in the future, once they move into their next phase of the development,” Tait said.

That broader reach matters because the municipality is always looking for new investment and new businesses, and wants to be ready when those opportunities come.

“We’re just glad to have them. We’re always looking for new investment and new businesses in the RM, and we’re ready to receive them.”

For the RM, the development is about more than one project at one intersection. Tait said it points to the type of commercial growth the municipality hopes to welcome in the years ahead, while making access easier for the people who live and work in the region every day.

arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca

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