Moe defends budget in Prince Albert as protection plan in uncertain times

Premier Scott Moe used a Prince Albert Chamber luncheon on Thursday at Plazza 88 to outline Saskatchewan’s 2026-27 budget as a plan to protect services, investment, and local growth during a period of global uncertainty, pointing to the Victoria Hospital expansion as one of the clearest examples of what that means for the city.

Moe and Finance Minister Jim Reiter spoke at Plaza 88 during a post-budget event hosted by the Prince Albert and District Chamber of Commerce. The luncheon began with remarks from chamber CEO Patty Hughes, followed by speeches from Moe and Reiter, a moderated on-stage question-and-answer session led by Hughes and media interviews after the event.

Hughes framed the discussion around Prince Albert’s importance to the wider region, describing the city as a service and economic centre for northern Saskatchewan.

“We are the service hub of the north,” Hughes said, adding that Prince albert plays a major role in health care, business and economic activity across the region.

That broader role was echoed by Moe, who repeatedly described Prince Albert as a gateway to the North and argued that major provincial spending in the city should be understood not only as a local investment, but as one that affects a much larger area.

Much of the local focus landed on the Victoria Hostpital expansion. Moe said the project is expected to be operating in 2028 and described it as one of the most significant investments currently planned for Prince Albert.

“So I think the completion of the capital construction and the actual operation of the expansion will be in 2028,” Moe said. “It’s a significant project, close to a billion dollar investment.”

He said the capital side of the project is fully funded by the province and added that once the expansion is operating. It is expected to support about 500 additional professional staff. Moe tied that directly to the province’s effort to strengthen care in Prince Albert and throughout northern Saskatchewan.

Moe also tied the budget to community safety, addictions recovery, and social supports in Prince Albert, saying the province’s approach has to include both enforcement and treatment. He said people struggling with addiction need a real pathway into recovery and pointed to the planned urgent care centre and complex needs facility in Prince Albert as part of that response. 

“We need to provide those recovery opportunities for each and every person that unfortunately has had some mental health challenges and may have slipped into a life of addictions,” Moe said. “we have a responsibility as people that live alongside one another to provide everybody that opportunity to enter a recovery lifestyle.”

The two men also made the case that the province chose to run a deficit rather than pull back on key services or supports. Reiter said the budget contains an $819 million deficit, but argued the government has set out a four-year path back to balance while still maintaining core spending.

“Right now in Saskatchewan, a family of four, earning on their first $65,000 of income is going to pay no provincial income tax,” Reiter said.

Rieter also highlighted measures aimed at business and workforce development, including keeping the small business tax rate at one percent and expanding training opportunites. The workforce side of the budget drew attention from local business leaders who continue to face hiring challenges and labour shortages.

Moe also took aim at Oppostion leader Carla Beck during the discussion, defending the government’s school construction record and referencing criticism over a proposed new school in Shellbrook. He said the province has built or announced 108 schools or major school renovations during the Saskatchewan Party’s time in office, then accused Beck of oppsing one project while not raising the same objections to new schools in her own constituency.

“I was hoping the leader would be here because they took issue with the 109th school,” Moe said. “I see the Sask River School Division is here, and I’d like to make an introduction after, and maybe they can explain why they don’t want that school to go into that facility when the leader of the opposition has three new ones in her constituency that she didn’t take issue with.”

Reiter pointed to municipal revenue sharing as another example of what the government says the budget is delivering locally. He said Prince Albert received $2.9 million in municipal revenue sharing in 2007, which he said would amount to about $4.3 million today if adjusted, compared to $10.1 million under the current formula.

A large ceremonial cheque displayed on stage underscored that point, showing $10,183,082 for the City of Prince Albert in municipal revenue sharing. Hughes drew attention to the amount during the discussion, calling it a record high, before Reiter and Moe used it to argue the province has given municipalities a more predictable and stronger share of provincial revenue.

Moe repeatedly tied the budget to broader instability in global markets, trade and energy prices, arguing that Saskatchewan is trying to protect both public services and future economic opportunity at the same time. Asked later about whether Saskatchewan could make greater use of its own oil through refining or other value-added processing, Moe said the province already has refinery and upgrader capacity, but global pricing still drives what consumers and businesses feel at home.

“So really, I think, although an uncertain time globally, and we are connected globally, each of our industries in our province, more generally, this is also an exciting time,” Moe said. “There are opportunities, and I would encourage first and foremost businesses to identify those opportunities and move on them.”

Questions during Hughes’s on-stage discussion touched on health care, municipal funding, community safety, and business pressures. In interviews with the media after the event, Moe was also asked about labour shortages, burnout in front-line systems, and the difficulty some international students face finding work after studying in Saskatchewan. Moe said there are jobs available in Prince Albert and the surrounding region, but said post-secondary institutions could do more to connect students and graduates with industry.

On health care staffing, Moe pointed to expanded training seats in recent years, including new medicine, residency, and nurse practitioner seats. He also said the Saskatchewan Health Recruitment Agency is expected to take on a larger role in bringing workers into the system and supporting local recruitment efforts.

The event gave the local business community a chance to press the province directly on fuel costs, hiring pressures, and whether Prince Albert will see a clear return from the budget. The government’s message throughout the luncheon was that the city remains central to its plans for health care, safety, and growth in the North.

The Saskatchewan NDP, meanwhile said Thursday the budget will leave people paying more while failing to do enough on affordability, health care and education. In a release issued after the budget vote, the opposition said the plan “contains nothing to make life more affordable,” called the health funding increase inadequate and argued school capital cuts could delay needed projects while the government moves ahead with a new school in Shellbrook, Moe’s hometown.

“This budget is bad news and the people of Saskatchewan are going to pay for it in so many ways,” said Carla Beck, Saskatchewan NDP Leader in the statement. “The people of this province deserve a government that’s listening to their very real concerns and that is budgeting to address major issues while setting us up for a bright future.

Beck was in Prince Albert on Friday to address the Northern Mayor’s Meeting, which brought together leaders from 35 northern communities. In a press release, Beck said the province needs to invest more in northern infrastructure, particularly its highways, which would help improve access to healthcare. She also called on the province to do more to make life more affordable for northern families.

“There are actions that could be taken today to help struggling families, such as cutting the 15-cent-per-litre fuel tax or removing the provincial sales tax on groceries as Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has done in that province,” she said.

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