The Government of Saskatchewan released their 2026-27 provincial budget yesterday, which has a deficit of $819.4 million.

Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce CEO Jason Aebig says that while a deficit is uncomfortable, he was not surprised to see one.

“I think that the way the minister laid out the case for the budget, I think was solid. I think, relatively speaking, in comparison to other provinces and just the state of the world, it’s not surprising we’re at this level. But what we have to do is find a clear path back to balance. This is not something that we want or need to sustain over the long term and we need a strategy to tackle it.”

Overall, Aebig gave the budget a ‘B’ grade.

“I think we’d give it a strong ‘B’ under the circumstances. I think that’s what we’re seeing here, is an honest effort to try to provide stability and clarity for businesses at a time where there’s great uncertainty and volatility. And certainly our members will appreciate that. They can now proceed on their plans over the next year, knowing what the province’s intentions are, with respect to taxation and other things.”

The provincial government alluded to the possibility of reducing spending through what they called a vacancy management strategy within the Public Service.

Aebig says he would like to see the government make a more deliberate effort in cutting spending.

“It seems to us, there’s an opportunity to try and close that gap a bit more quickly if there was perhaps a more intentional effort to find savings inside government. I think relying on attrition is one strategy, but it often takes a while and I think there’s a mood and an interest, certainly among our members, to see that gap closed much sooner.”

He adds that since there are still three months left in the province’s fiscal year, volatility in markets such as oil and gas could lead to an increase in the deficit.