Saskatchewan as an Opportunity

‘Saskatchewan’ is one of the richest spots in the world when it comes to natural resources. It is the largest producer of uranium. It is the biggest producer of the fertilizer potash. It is the world’s largest exporter of green lentils and chickpeas. And it’s home to enormous supplies of oil and gas...

Jon Birger  Fortune Magazine

What has been missing
As a result of 50+ years of hard left wing political domination, Saskatchewan did not develop adequate local capital formation tools. This manifested in sub-optimal development of the Province’s mining and oil & gas sectors resulting in stagnant population and infrastructure growth. Nationalization within the resource sector and government policy oversight virtually sterilized Saskatchewan’s capital market in the 1970’s. This previous political climate resulted in a very timid investor base, which further hampered resource development.

What has changed
Left wing governments for the past four administrations have become increasingly aware of the need for pragmatic capitalist-oriented resource policies and have actively encouraged capital market development through tax incentives and responsible royalty structures. Change in government from the New Democratic Party (Socialist), to the Saskatchewan Party (Conservative) has accelerated the pace of change and spurred development of the resource opportunities previously passed over. Government owned resource enterprises­—Saskoil, Cameco and Potash Corporation have been privatized. Both ends of the political spectrum have become very supportive of bringing the Province to the forefront of resource development.