Saskatchewan: The Investment Magnet

Any doubt that Saskatchewan has entered SaskaBoom 2.0 was erased this week. By Day Two of the workweek, we’d seen announcement of a $300 million takeover of Cervus Equipment by the Brandt Group and then there was the $7 billion announcement that the BHP Jansen mine would proceed. These come on the heels of more than a billion dollars being announced for the canola crushing industry.

In short, the investment train in Saskatchewan just picked up some momentum.

Capital spending is the primary driver of economic growth. It generates wealth and jobs and government revenues but, more importantly, is permanent. You don’t ‘unbuild’ a mine once it is created so the province’s economy will be forever changed with the decision.

Construction – which has been underway for years – will continue here and at the west coast where the product will be handled for export. That will generate work for Saskatchewan residents and likely will result in population growth – a development we saw a decade ago in the last round of major mine development.