Scott Moe says the province is seeing some of its strongest years in recent history during his visit to Prince Albert for the annual Premier’s Dinner on Thursday.
“This year, Saskatchewan is expected to grow faster than any province in Canada. Not just for this year, but for the next three years,” Moe said. “Our unemployment rate, 4.1 per cent, is the lowest in the nation of Canada.”
He added that the value of the province’s exports are surging, up 50 per cent since last year; and it will keep growing because of what’s happening not only in Saskatchewan’s economy, but in Prince Albert’s too.
Moe credits the growth to Cameco restarting production of the McArthur River Mine and Key Lake Mill, and the company’s recent partnership with Brookefield Renewables to buy one of the largest nuclear service companies in the world.
Moe said this is an indication that the world needs more clean nuclear power, which is why the province will be moving forward to develop their own small modular reactors or SMRs.
“A growing nuclear industry will mean more jobs for Prince Albert, it will mean more jobs for northern Saskatchewan, and it will mean more revenues for your government of Saskatchewan to invest right back into our very communities,” Moe told attendees.
With more jobs comes more growth and more people flocking to the province. According to Moe, nearly 6,500 people have chosen to settle in Saskatchewan in the second quarter of this year.
“It’s the largest increase in population in a three month period since Stats Canada started doing quarterly reporting back in 1971, over 50 years ago,” said Moe. “People are coming to Saskatchewan because there’s opportunity in our communities here in this province.”
The Sask Party is projecting Saskatchewan’s population to increase to 1.2 million people by the end of this calendar year. With the current growth rate, the population is on track to reach the province’s target in their most recent plan for growth: 1.4 million people by 2030.
“We have tremendous opportunity that lies before us and we’re very focused on how we’re going to unlock this potential in our great province, a potential that I would say is as large as it’s ever been,” said Moe. “We truly are on the cusp of a great opportunity in Saskatchewan.”
