For the first time in about five years, both Saskatoon’s public and catholic school divisions are reporting lower than expected enrolment levels.

Superintendent in the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division Luisa Giocoli Clark says the division saw an increase of 42 students in 2025 for a total of just over 23,000, which is about 260 short of what was projected. Meanwhile, the Saskatoon Public School Division saw 66 less students enroll for a total of 28,858.

She, as well as the Saskatoon Public School Division, attribute the slowdown to lower immigration rates following recent federal policy changes. Amendments to provincial government policy might have also played a factor.

“We announced a growth of 42 students, but part of that is because over 200 international students are no longer factored into our enrolment, and that’s because of some changes to government policy.”

Giocoli Clark adds that the slowdown in growth was surprisingly welcome, as school divisions across Saskatchewan have been struggling with large class sizes and heightened class complexity in recent years.

“We’ve had to be really creative to find ways to convert several non-classroom spaces. We’re really looking forward to the pending construction of these new schools that will help alleviate some of the strain on the capacity of some of our schools. But again, those school builds are years away still, so this is a welcome slow down.”