Bill Powalinsky says some of the highlights include designating a site for a future emergency shelter, hosting the World Softball Championships, and finishing construction on the new aquatic centre.
However, there have been some struggles as well—mostly financial.
“The thing that keeps me awake, and I’m sure it concerns my fellow councilors, is the finances. From what I’ve seen around the province…I see bigger centres struggling. So, we’re not alone, but we’re definitely going to be the city the finds a solution.”
He adds that Prince Albert was not immune to inflation and tariffs, which put pressure on Council to raise property taxes in order to maintain service levels.
Some of the other challenges PA experienced aren’t unique to the area. Powalinsky says the demand for healthcare is pinching an understaffed system. With the expansion of both Victoria and Saskatoon City hospitals, he isn’t sure how the recruitment process will go.
“I see that Saskatoon is competing with PA, and we’re looking at about 1000 positions (that will need to be filled). Oh boy, it’s going to be a tough, tough staffing issue.”
His proposed solution to the understaffing issue: transferring some of the USask medical students to the PA training hospital. Powalinsky hopes to engage the university and the Province regarding the idea in the near future.
As far as his number one goal for 2026, Powalinsky says it would have to be enhancing the city’s housing strategy.
He says PA is 1400 housing units behind where it needs to be, and there is a tremendous demand for low-income housing in the community.
“One of our goals is to work with the Province and developers to see how we can incentivize development in PA.”
The City has already taken several steps in the right direction, such as implementing several tax incentive programs and adopting the federal government’s new zoning policy which makes every property zoned for residential use, providing it meets the criteria.
Another goal for 2026 includes pivoting economic development to support long-term industry growth.
