The Prince Albert business community will be closely watching the delivery of the provincial budget on March 19.
Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce CEO Patty Hughes said the Saskatchewan Party made a number of promises to business owner during the recent election, and they’ll be watching to make sure the government follows through.
“We recently just came out of provincial election. The government was elected with the mandate going forward and they had some very specific things in there in regards to business,” Hughes said.
“Particularly, they had made indication for a small and medium enterprise tax credit and this was to help small businesses develop and also for job creation. Another one that was very particular was the hold on the one per cent tax rate. It was set to rise to two per cent here on July 1 of 2025, but the government had promised during the election process that they would hold that at one per cent, so looking forward from a business aspect, we would like to see the implementation of that small SME tax credit to support the small businesses.”
Hughes said they’ll also be watching to see if a proposed bursary program aimed at supporting young entrepreneurs also received support.
Hughes said the Saskatchewan Party campaigned on balancing the budget by 2027-28, which would mean a deficit this year. She said efforts to balance the budget, combined with recent U.S. tariffs, could mean some of those promises get put on hold.
“They had anticipated with these campaign promises and the upcoming budget that there would be provincial deficit for the next several years,” Hughes said. “They had the goal of balancing the budget by 2027-28 if I remember correctly. That was what they had anticipated with what they put forward.
“It will be interesting with the tariffs, because that is something new…. I do think that is going to impact some of the decisions that are being made. We may not, maybe, see some of these promises being enacted right away. It might be something that’s two or three years down the road, but I’m hoping that we will see them because some of them will be very impactful, particularly on families. Those tariffs will increase costs.”
Hughes added that business owners would appreciate it if the province eliminated the PST on commercial insurance premiums, and all capital expenditures.
Those two recommendations were also among five made by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB).
CFIB has recently met with Saskatchewan’s finance minister to share recommendations as to how the provincial government can support small businesses at this time in addition to freezing the small business tax rate, to help address the rising cost of doing business and promote business growth and expansion.
“Given the potential impacts of U.S. tariffs and the significant uncertainty small businesses are currently facing, this year’s budget provides an opportunity for the Saskatchewan government to help businesses weather the storm by avoiding the introduction of any new taxes or cost increases and working to reduce costs for small businesses wherever possible,” Brianna Solberg, CFIB director for the Prairies and Northern Canada, said in a press release.
“With the impacts of U.S. tariffs, now more than ever we must address inefficiencies and promote productivity.”
The provincial government will deliver the budget on March 19.
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
