Saskatchewan debt more than doubles since 2017, NDP says

Carla Beck stands next to a large novelty cheque illustrating Saskatchewan’s growing provincial debt on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck addressed media Thursday afternoon to present a symbolic cheque for $1.07 billion payable to billionaire bankers.

Beck explained the gesture was intended to highlight the growing interest on the provincial debt.

“The Saskatchewan NDP wants to present Premier Scott Moe with this enormous novelty cheque to illustrate just what a gift this government’s mismanagement has been, not to the people of this province, but to Toronto bankers and billionaires,” Beck said.

The NDP leader added that Saskatchewan’s debt has steadily increased while Moe has been in office.

“Since 2017, when Scott Moe first became premier of this province, the debt has doubled from $17.6 billion to $39.3 billion, almost more than doubled, approaching $40 billion in this province,” Beck said.

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In response to the criticism, Moe emphasized that all levels of government are seeing challenging times, citing numerous tariffs on international trade as a particularly impactful factor.

“With all of the choppiness, the choppy waters we see in the trade area and in our global relations, that is going to show up in the bottom line of national and provincial deficits this year. And so it’s a very challenging time for the Canadian economy, I think in general,” Moe said.

The Premier went on to emphasize that his government is focused on the province’s financial situation. He said Saskatchewan’s finances, however, rank on the less concerning end when compared to the rest of the country.

“No deficit is acceptable, and it’s always our goal to balance that budget in the province. However, that being said, we do have the lowest deficit per capita, lowest deficit compared to GDP and the second-lowest debt to GDP in the nation,” Moe said.

For the NDP, however, Beck said the issue extends beyond the end-of-year finances.

“This is a rich province. We don’t have a revenue problem. We have a mismanagement problem. We have an 18-year old government that has run out of ideas and, frankly, was never that good at managing the debt in this province,” Beck said.