Highlights of Saskatchewan government budget include smaller deficit, new taxes

REGINA – Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government tabled its 2022-23 budget on Wednesday. Here are some of the highlights:

— A $463 million deficit, $2.1 billion less than what was expected in the fall.

— A goal to eliminate the deficit by 2026-27.

— Projected expenses of $17.6 billion, an increase of $531 million.

— Revenue up $2.7 billion from last year’s budget, mainly driven by rising oil and potash prices.

— A projected West Texas Intermediate oil price of about US$76 a barrel.

— Each US$1-per-barrel increase in the WTI price expected to add $14 million in revenue.

— More than $21 million to address a backlog of surgeries, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

— A six per cent provincial sales tax on admission fees and entertainment.

— A two cent hike on each cigarette, an eight cent hike per gram of loose tobacco and a 1.8 cent tax hike on heat-not-burn sticks.

— $3.2 billion dollars for existing capital projects.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 23, 2022.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said it was the 2021-22 budget.