At last. It’s happening.
2025 is going to be a seminal year for Saskatchewan’s agri-food sector as we pass Quebec to stand in second-place behind Ontario when measuring value-added processing investment. And we are proving to be a powerful counterbalance to declining investment in the resource sector in much of the country.
Capital spending or investment is a critical measurement or barometer of future growth. Jurisdictions that attract external capital boast an environment that outpace their competitors – either because they offer raw materials no one else has, an exceptional workforce or a friendly regulatory regime.
Based on a new report from StatsCanada, Saskatchewan is increasingly becoming that jurisdiction in this country.
On value-added agri-food, the report projects a doubling of capital investment in 2025 in Saskatchewan pushing us past Quebec. That represents more than $800 million.
On resource extraction, despite Ottawa stifling the oil and gas industry, one-in-six of all the dollars spent on investment in the entire country is in oil and mining. Alberta leads the way but Saskatchewan is right behind, adding three-quarters of a billion dollars this year.
