The thumbnail description of Saskatchewan’s economic outlook is that the province is now through the bottom of the trough.
That comes from the latest forecast issued by TD Canada Trust. Their economists say 2019 was a year of treading water and many of the problem areas like weak commodity prices and market access are still there. But we have likely seen the worst of it as the outlook for farming has to be better than what happened last season and potash demand is gradually showing signs of improvement.
On the plus side, job numbers have remained strong and that is a good sign for the housing market. They are projecting higher home prices and more sales volume in the next year. But we’re losing people to other provinces and retail spending is soft, two countervailing factors on the consumer front.
The bank also says the province’s finances – with a surplus forecast for this year – remain the envy of the country as we have the second-lowest debt to GDP ratio among the provinces.
