Paul Martin commentary
The Saskatchewan economy has now surpassed $85 billion.
The annual year-end assessment of economic growth has been released by StatsCanada. This amounts to the ‘official’ number for the size of the economy which now stands at $85,400,000,000.
That represents a 2.2-percent expansion over 2024 which was above the national average. This might help put it in context; the prairies represent one-fifth of the country’s population but we accounted for one-third of the national GDP gains.
For Saskatchewan, a big grain crop last year was a key contributor to our growth while slowing manufacturing activity was a drag that kept us from rising farther.
According to the federal agency, the construction industry also played a big role in our growth as work continues on major mines such as Jansen and Foran as well as a range of commercial and institutional development throughout the province.
Residential construction was also strong last year which helped push the industry’s 2024 expansion nearly 10-percent higher than in 2023.
For the coming year we should expect further support from strong oil prices triggered by the Middle East conflict.
