Saskatchewan records operating deficit just shy of $250M: public accounts

The Saskatchewan Legislative Building can be seen in this file photo. (David Prisciak/CTV News)

The Government of Saskatchewan has shared an updated snapshot of its financial standings, revealing that the province finished the 2024-2025 fiscal year near its budget forecast.

Volume 1 of the province’s 2024-25 public accounts were released Monday. The province ended that year with a $249 million operating deficit – down from the $274.3 million projected in the 2024-25 budget.

According to Finance Minister Jim Reiter, both revenue and expenses have grown since budget day – the former rising by $994 million to $20.9 billion and the latter increasing by $970 million to $21.1 billion.

An important note, total revenue for the province was actually $137 million less than the prior budget year.

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The revenue increase (from the budget projection) was due to multiple factors.

In the document, the province identified the resolution of tobacco litigation as a notable increase – while taxation and net income from government business enterprises decreased. Additionally, the province received less revenue from non-renewable resources – primarily due to declining potash revenue.

• Saskatchewan to receive over $700 million in historic tobacco settlement

Rising expenses were due to increasing costs in sectors such as health, agriculture, environment and natural resources.

The most notable increase was found in healthcare – as demand for services increased. A significant decrease in crop insurance indemnities due to lessening drought conditions, partially offset the cost increases.

“Earlier this year Statistics Canada confirmed that our province remains a national leader in economic growth, ranking us second in the country for real GDP growth in 2024,” Reiter added.

The province invested a total of $4.32 billion into capital investments in 2025. The funds went toward schools, hospitals and roads in addition to improvements in electricity generation, transmission and distribution assets and communication networks in the Crown sector.

According to the public accounts document, the government’s overall financial position as of March 31, 2025 is an accumulated deficit of $1.54 billion.