After months of criticism, the Saskatchewan NDP put the provincial government’s 2026-27 budget through a wood chipper. The opposition pulled the stunt Tuesday morning following a news conference. “We are putting Scott Moe’s bad news budget through a wood chipper, and no that’s not a metaphor,” NDP MLA Aleana Young explained. “We’re going to do this because this document is full of nothing but lies, cover ups and deceptions.” Young pointed to leaked documents indicating that the province’s plan to extend the life of coal-fired power plants would cost $26 billion over the next 25 years, which the province has denied. “This $26 billion cost to refurbish the coal plants was hidden from the people of Saskatchewan,” said NDP MLA Sally Housser. “First Moe’s minister Jeremy Harrison said it had no cost, then it was $900 million, then $2.6 billion and then finally the documents that the NDP had to expose said that the real cost was $26 billion.” NDP MLA Hugh Gordon further criticized the budget, saying it offered no meaningful relief for struggling families dealing with increasing costs for rent, groceries and even children’s clothing. Housser called this the latest and loudest chapter of Sask. Party fiscal mismanagement. The province has stated that the documents the NDP was citing were from an incomplete presentation made to SaskPower’s board in 2025. The government has argued it was unfair to include the cost of operations, transmission and salaries as part of the coal extension’s capital costs. Finance Minister Jim Reiter staunchly defended the budget during Tuesday’s question period. “They can pick and choose whichever numbers they want to use but the fact of the matter is where it really counts — the bond rating agencies ... Saskatchewan has the best credit rating in the country," he said. Reiter also defended the province’s energy strategy. “I think [the NDP’s] time would have been better spent putting their so-called power plan through a calculator so people could actually see the numbers.
