Saskatchewan 2026 Poverty Report Card

Saskatchewan’s fiscal position changed significantly through 2025. This change was driven by higher health care costs, wildfire response expenses, and lower SaskPower revenues following the removal of the federal carbon levy. The 2026/27 budget, tabled on March 18, 2026, confirmed a projected deficit of $819 million. Saskatchewan maintains the second-lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio among the provinces.  

In October 2024, the Saskatchewan Party was elected for a fifth consecutive term with Premier Scott Moe at the helm. The loss of several urban cabinet ministers — particularly in Regina — was interpreted as a mandate for the government to attend more carefully to urban affordability, crime, and social services.

The 2025/26 budget increases the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) and Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) by 2%. This increase is below the rate of food inflation, which ran at approximately 4% nationally, and represents a decline in purchasing power for the most vulnerable recipients. The 2026/27 budget maintained this pattern with another 2% increase to monthly SIS and SAID benefits. Programs have yet to be indexed to inflation. A notable addition in the 2026/27 budget is a new $1,000 one-time per household utility arrears recoverable benefit for SIS clients. This is intended to prevent evictions because of unpaid utility bills. SAID residential support benefits received a more substantial commitment: a 10% annual increase for each of the next three years, and a 30% increase over the next three years for families who are caring for loved ones at home.  

The provincial government has framed affordability primarily through tax credits across both the 2025/26 and 2026/27 budgets. The 2026/27 budget continues Year 2 of a four-year plan to increase personal, spousal, equivalent-to-spouse, dependent child, and seniors’ supplement exemptions by $500 annually — over and above indexation. Tax cuts combined with indexation are providing approximately $200 million in savings in 2026. A family of four pays no provincial income tax on their first $65,000 of income, the highest threshold in Canada. The Saskatchewan Low-Income Tax Credit has been increased by another 5% on top of indexation. A qualifying family of four can now receive up to $1,282 annually, up from $1,196 in 2025.  

The Disability Tax Credit, supplement for children under 18, Caregiver Tax Credit, Infirm Dependent Tax Credit, and senior supplementary amount all rose by 25%. The Low-Income Tax Credit was enhanced by 5% per year for four years beginning July 1, 2025. The Active Families Benefit, which supports children’s sport and recreation costs, was doubled from $150 to up to $300 per child (from $200 to up to $400 for children with disabilities), and the income threshold doubled to $120,000. This doubling continued in the 2026/27 budget, with total program funding growing from $4 million to $8 million.  

On housing supply, the secondary suite incentive grant continues, with a $9 million increase in the 2025 budget, though it carries no affordability controls. Saskatchewan still has no rent control or vacancy control mechanism. Corporate landlord concentration remains high. Saskatchewan has 70 times more REIT-owned units than Manitoba, despite having half the rental housing stock.

The 2026/27 budget continued capital investments with $17.6 million in new and continuing projects to support repairs in provincially owned housing units and new affordable housing units through the Rental Development Program. The Saskatchewan Housing Benefit received a $3.2 million investment that increased core monthly benefits by 20%, with a 40% increase through the Supportive Housing stream and a doubling of benefits through the Seeking Safety stream for individuals fleeing interpersonal violence.  

In November 2025, Saskatchewan and the Federal government announced a five-year extension to the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) agreement. It will now run until March 31, 2031, with more than $1.6 billion in federal funding during that time. Saskatchewan was one of the last provinces to sign the extension. The province also signed a $15.8 million, three-year agreement under the National School Food Program in March 2025 to expand school food programs, building on a $2.7 million investment in the Child Nutrition Program in 2024.  

Saskatchewan had not signed a bilateral pharmacare agreement as of late 2025. The government has generally been critical of the federal pharmacare framework and has not indicated any willingness to sign. The Canadian Dental Care Plan is available to Saskatchewan residents as a direct federal benefit.  

Despite the province’s resource wealth and low unemployment rate (4.9% as of March 2025, the lowest in Canada), poverty is rising. Child poverty stands at 27.1%, the highest of any province, and food insecurity has reached 30.6%, the second-highest level in Canada. The province’s 2025 deadline to reduce enduring poverty by 50% has passed with the promise largely unmet, and it is unclear if there is a political commitment to take the sustained legislative action that lifts people out of poverty.  

Affordability 

Close the repair backlog for affordable housing. 
The 2025/26 budget introduced new funding to begin multi-year-repair and renovation projects for 285 Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC) units in Saskatoon, Regina, and Prince Albert. While this is a positive start, it must increase to at least 500 units per year. Saskatchewan should scale up its social housing repair commitment to this level and sustain it until the full repair backlog is addressed. 

Introduce basic rent increase guidelines, capping annual increases at CPI + 2% for existing tenants. 
Saskatchewan is one of the few provinces with no form of rent stabilization, guidelines, or control for residential tenancies. Establishing a predictable rent guideline tied to inflation would help protect tenants from sharp and unpredictable rent increases. 

Income Security 

Improve and index Saskatchewan’s income support programs. 
Over the last year Saskatchewan has taken steps to raise the generosity of several tax credits and provincial social assistance, however they remain unidexed. To prevent further erosion of benefit adequacy, the province should immediately index SIS and SAID to the Consumer Price Index. 

Introduce a Saskatchewan Child Benefit. 
Despite high child poverty rates the province has not introduced a dedicated child benefit to supplement the Canada Child Benefit as other provinces like Alberta have successfully done. Saskatchewan should introduce a refundable Saskatchewan Child Benefit for families below the poverty line, phasing out gradually as income rises. The benefit could be delivered monthly, coordinated with the federal Canada Child Benefit, and indexed to inflation from the outset. 

Labour Market Reform 

Raise the provincial minimum wage toward $17.00 per hour by 2027, paired with annual CPI indexation. 
The reindexation of the minimum wage in October 2024 was a positive development. However, the current base wage of $15.00 per hour is insufficient. A full time worker earns approximately $31,200 annually before taxes on this rate. Moving the minimum wage toward $17.00 by 2027 would improve income security for workers who earn low wages. 

Addressing Inequities 

Update and modernize the 2016 Poverty Reduction Strategy. 
Saskatchewan now has the highest provincial poverty rate in Canada. The government's 2025 deadline to reduce enduring poverty by 50% has passed with the promise largely forgotten, and poverty in Saskatchewan — particularly child poverty — is not only growing but deepening. A strategy would provide the accountability infrastructure — targets, timelines, measurement frameworks, and public reporting — needed to assess whether individual budget measures are collectively making a difference.