Reallocating Saskatoon Wards before next civic election

Tuesday citizens of Saskatoon are invited to the first public engagement session regarding the 2024 ward boundary review.

In 2022, City Administration found that wards 2 and 7 in Saskatoon were outside of the allowable 10 per cent population variance threshold, therefor triggering the review.

City Clerk Adam Tittemore says the ward boundary commission has created three possible options to reconfigure the city’s wards, which are all very similar.

Option one includes moving the Confederation Urban Centre into Ward 2 and Nutana Park into Ward 9. The second option would also include option one’s alterations, with the addition of Hudson Bay Park into Ward 2 and the addition of University Heights Urban Centre into Ward 1. Option three encompasses all of those moves, as well as moves Richmond Heights into Ward 5.

He adds that when choosing an option, the ward boundary commission is trying to limit change as much as possible, as opposed to making changes that will get reserved in four years. Current growth patterns of the city predict that in the next four years, wards 3, 8, 9, and 10 will see a significant population increase.

In addition to the public engagement session, the public can also submit input online at saskatoon.ca/engage, through email, or over the phone. It will be reviewed, changes will be made accordingly, and a second engagement session will be held in late September. To follow, a presentation will be made to City Council on what the new wards will be.