Saskatchewan feeling effects of global helium shortage

Global supply issues are spiking helium prices, forcing Regina businesses to shift away from helium products. Jacob Carr has more.

Helium is currently in short supply worldwide and Saskatchewan is feeling the effects.

Nearly a third of the world’s helium resources from Qatar are stuck in the Middle East because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the U-S - Iran conflict.

However, Richard Dunn, the executive director of the Helium Developers Association of Canada, says this may present an opportunity to take advantage of the abundance of helium deposits in Saskatchewan

“The good news is that we do have a significant helium resource, principally in Saskatchewan at this point. And we’re good at this. We’re very, very good at what we do, and responsibly producing the product,” he said.

The provincial government, led by Energy and Resources Minister Chris Beaudry, returned from a trip to Ottawa on Wednesday to advocate for federal policy changes that would support Saskatchewan’s helium industry.

The province currently provides around three per cent of the world’s total helium supply.

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The government has a goal to grow that number to 10 per cent by 2030.

“There are 34 critical minerals, 33 of them have standard tax treatment. And we’re just asking for helium to have the same standard tax treatment that all other critical minerals have. That small change is going to be massive to industry, and that’s going to unlock a lot of opportunity for us.”

Beaudry is referring to the Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit, where the Federal Government offers a 30 per cent credit for the targeted exploration of minerals including nickel, lithium, and cobalt.

Regina businesses are also feeling the effects of the shortage.

Balloon Bar YQR is fully moving away from helium to air filled products.

Owner Tanna Dietrich says that in 2018, a tank of helium cost about $200.

Today, she says that has jumped to around $1,200.

“We’ve known that we’ve always wanted to pivot away from it eventually. And this was sort of the moment that it’s like, ‘You know what, why don’t we just take a hard turn and just dive into it, rather than waiting and seeing if we’re able to get it, what the cost is going to be?’ And just really lean into that side of the business,” she said.