Prince Albert and the University of Saskatchewan formally signed a new memorandum of understading Tuesday, with city and university leaders saying the agreement is meant to help turn local priorities into practical work on the ground.
The signing took place at the USask Prince Albert campus after an earlier ceremony was postponed by bad weather. Speakers throughout the event described the agreement as the next step in a relationship that has already been growing between the city and the university, especially since the campus opened in 2020.
Jay Wilson, principal of the USask Prince Albert campus, said the agreement is intended to bring academic expertise and civic priorities together in a more focused way.
“I think what it does is it leverages the strengths on both sides of the relationship,” Wilson said.
Arjun Pillai/Daily Herald
A wide view of the University of Saskatchewan Prince Albert campus shows guests gathered Tuesday for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the university and the City of Prince Albert.
He said the next stop will be creating a working group to identify priorities and build on work already underway rather than starting from the beginning. Among the issues already being discussed, he said, are homelessness, addiction, wastewater quality, and housing.
Wilson also said accessibility could become part of the partnership’s work. He said the university has learned through its own student supports and accessibility efforts, and that knowledge could be useful in Prince Albert as the city works through local barriers and needs.
The city has already been looking at accessibility issues tied to transit, sidewalks, and winter conditions, with officials recently pointing to concerns raised by blind and low-vision residents about bus stops, crossings, and navigation.
Mayor Bill Powalinsky said the agreement matters because it gives Prince Albert greater access to the university’s wider resources while helping the city focus on its own priorities.
“What we’re looking for is made in PA initiatives and solutions,” Powalinsky said after the ceremony.
He pointed to crime, addictions and mental health, homelessness, and economic development as areas where the university could play a meaningful role. He also said he hopes the relationship could eventually support physician training in Prince Albert, arguing the city has both the need and the facilities to make a stronger case for it.
University of Saskatchewan president Vince Bruni-Bossio said formalizing the relationship was important because it strengthens collaboration that already existed and creates more opportunity for students and researchers to work in the community.
“Our research is enhanced because we’re solving real-life problems that exist in the Prince Albert community,” Bruni-Bossio said.
He said students also benefit when they are able to learn in the same community where many of them may eventually work.
Government Relations Minister Eric Schmalz said the province views the agreement as part of a broader effort to expand educational and research opportunities while helping students in northern Saskatchewan access more of a university experience closer to home.
During the event, speakers also pointed to examples of work already tied to Prince Albert, including research involving homelessness, substance use, and the city’s mobile complex needs initiative. Wilson said the memorandum includes a research component and seed funding that could help faculty and students take on locally identified questions in a more direct way.
A similar University of Saskatchewan partnership with the City of Saskatoon has already moved beyond the signing stage. Through USask’s Research Junction initiative, the two sides have funded multiple rounds of urban research projects since 2019, created development and seed grant streams, and set up support for joint work ranging from project agreements to access to city data through the university library.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
