How do Saskatchewan's parties compare on these election issues?

Sask. Party Leader Scott Moe said the Saskatchewan Party will run on the party’s record of making things more affordable for people in Saskatchewan and its plan to continue doing so. During the 2024/2025 budget, the Saskatchewan Party expressed frustration that it was unable to lower taxes or balance the budget, but said it was because of commitments to spending and capital projects.

The Saskatchewan NDP says its commitment to not hiking taxes will make the province more affordable.

The Buffalo Party says it will use evidence-based affordability measures rather than promoting income equality. It has promised legislation to provide necessary supports and housing for people on social assistance. It would also reinstate direct social assistance payments to landlords and explore measures to protect landlords from liability for unpaid utilities.

The PC Party has promised a PST rebate for all new home construction and a grant of up to $10,000 for energy-efficient home improvements. It is also promising relief programs for homeowners who can’t afford mortgage payments after a renewal.

The Saskatchewan Green Party says it is committed to ending poverty by advocating for a basic income guarantee that is “income contingent and incorporates incentives to work.”

The Saskatchewan Progress Party says it would repair all 3,400 vacant Saskatchewan Housing Corporation units within three years and make 20 per cent of them accessible. It would also task the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation with building low or no-income housing. It has also promised rent control and a $20 minimum wage. The party says it would reinstate direct social assistance payments to landlords, and index the Saskatchewan Income Support and Saskatchewan Assured Income for the Disabled programs to inflation.

The Saskatchewan United Party has promised a 65 per cent discount on property taxes for primary residences to people 65 years or older.

The Saskatchewan Party has committed to creating 28,000 regulated early-learning child-care spaces by 2026. As of June 30, 2024, the province had created 11,790, of which 6,041 were operational. Several planned new schools are set to have new child-care spaces: 180 at the joint-use elementary in Regina’s Towns neighbourhood, 90 at the Saskatoon City Centre School and 74 at the Harbour Landing joint-use elementary school in Regina.

NDP Leader Carla Beck says she would implement a human resources plan to help recruit child-care workers. She believes that would reduce the lengthy waitlists some families face for $10-a-day child care.

The Buffalo Party has yet to release a policy position on child care.

The PC Party has yet to release a policy position on child care.

The Saskatchewan Green Party has yet to release a policy position on child care.

The Saskatchewan Progress Party has yet to release a policy position on child care.

The Saskatchewan United Party has yet to release a policy position on child care.

The Saskatchewan Party has insisted that the federal government’s net-zero emissions target of 2035 is unrealistic. The party says it plans to reach net zero by 2050. It says ongoing efforts to explore small modular reactor (SMR) technology will be part of that. As government, the party has refused to collect and remit the federal carbon tax on natural gas. As of April, the Canadian Revenue Agency said the province owed the federal government $56 million.

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck has said the party is opposed to the federal carbon tax and Ottawa’s decision to exempt home heating oil — but not natural gas — from carbon tax for three years.

The Buffalo Party says it would support “all forms of energy and power generation,” but would directly support pipelines while giving communities the option to restrict green energy infrastructure. It would also oppose federal regulations limiting carbon emissions and the carbon tax. The party says it would provide up to $10,000 in tax deductions for workers and their spouses in industries “threatened” by federal energy and environment legislation.

The PC Party says it would strike a commission to review revenue taxation every four years.

The Saskatchewan Green Party says it would create a “just transition framework” for oil, gas and coal workers as the province transitions away from fossil fuels. The Green Party would also establish a targeted, long-term research fund for studying the impact of the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The Saskatchewan Progress Party says it would raise oil and gas royalty rates by five per cent. It would also support rare earth element initiatives through tax incentives and up to 30 per cent funding for new ventures in exchange for an ownership stake.

The Saskatchewan United Party says coal and natural gas would remain a “cornerstone” of the province’s energy strategy under its governance. It would also end the Saskatchewan Party’s commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

In the 2024/2025 budget, the Saskatchewan Party put $216 million toward school infrastructure, including two future joint-use schools in Regina and two in Saskatoon. The total budget for the Ministry of Education was $3.3 billion in the 24/25 budget, an increase of $247.8 million from the year before.

The NDP says it will devote $2 billion to reducing class sizes, hiring teachers and educational workers, and supporting students with complex learning needs. It says work would begin on the Regina joint-use elementary school by 2025 and a Saskatoon-Eastside high school by 2026. The party has also promised a new elementary school in Moose Jaw, a new high school for White City and Emerald Park, and a new healthy school food program costing $10 million at first and increasing to $55 million a year by the end of the party’s fourth year in government.

The Buffalo Party says it would establish private education savings accounts, then allocate money to parents through these accounts to increase competition among private and public schools. It would designate school principals as out-of-scope employees and require schools to offer courses on entrepreneurship, investment/money management and marketing. Funding will also be reintroduced for home economics and industrial arts programs. It would also introduce legislation for the creation of an independent school association.

The PC Party says it would ensure public funds only go to public schools and link education funding to inflation. It says it would also address issues of classroom size and complexity. The party has committed to implementing a breakfast and lunch program, ensuring teachers and administrators don’t have to pay for supplies out of pocket, and reducing or eliminating out-of-pocket student fees.

The Saskatchewan Green Party has yet to release a policy position on education.

The Saskatchewan Progress party says it would aim to have educational assistants in every classroom and require that mental health workers, counsellors and social workers be available for all schools. The party would provide free nutritional snacks and lunch programs in all elementary schools. It also says parents would no longer face additional fees for course materials, field trips and lunchtime supervision. It also says it would reduce the average classroom size to 18 students per teacher by 2032 through hiring and construction of new schools.

The Saskatchewan United Party says it would implement standardized testing to address the “low rankings” of students in the province. The party says it would ensure “political bias” and “ideology” are excluded from the province’s curriculum, ensuring schools are places of learning and not forums of “activism” and “indoctrination.”

The Sask. Party’s 2024/2025 budget projected a deficit of $273.2 million. That increased to $354 million as of the first quarter report issued at the end of August. In the budget, the party projected it would have a balanced budget by the 2025-2026 fiscal year and an $18-million surplus for the next fiscal year.

NDP Leader Carla Beck has said her party would balance the budget within four years in office. She said it plans to pay for its spending commitments by “growing the economy” and “finding efficiencies.”

The Buffalo Party says it would move to three-year budgets. It would also introduce legislation requiring balanced budgets, with any exceptions requiring a majority vote in a provincial referendum. It also promises legislation saying any unexpected surpluses would go to paying off debt, along with a “Heritage Fund” that would save a portion of natural resource revenue for “true emergencies.”

The PC Party has yet to release a policy position on government spending.

The Saskatchewan Green Party has yet to release a policy position on government spending.

The Saskatchewan Progress Party says it would scrap the proposed Saskatchewan Revenue Agency, saving the province $20 million in annual operating costs.

The Saskatchewan United Party says it would shrink government with a task force dedicated to reducing regulations, identifying redundancies and proposing simplifications.

The Saskatchewan Party has touted the success of its $300-million health human resources action plan, saying it has resulted in the recruitment of 253 physicians from outside Saskatchewan, the hiring of more than 1,400 recent nursing graduates and the introduction of 400 internationally educated nurses from the Philippines. The party has touted the new urgent care centre in Regina, opened in June, as a success. A similar urgent care centre in Saskatoon is to be completed by spring 2026.

The NDP says it would train, retain and hire more doctors, nurses and specialists by investing $1.1 billion in front-line services. It has promised to upgrade part-time health-care positions to full-time as part of that effort. The NDP has also said it would end the use of contract or travel nurses.

The Buffalo Party says it would not allow public funds to be used for elective abortions unless the physical life of the mother is at risk. It says it would support the private sector playing a larger role in health care. It would also introduce legislation that guarantees health care in rural areas and expands rural EMS, telemedicine, and public and private MRI and CT scan clinics. It says it would reduce regulations to allow for easier employment of medical workers.

The PC Party says it would use retired nurses to help fill shortages and increase training spots for health-care workers, with some reserved for Saskatchewan-born or Indigenous students. The party would allow nurse practitioners to operate clinics in small communities to assist rural health care delivery and make doctor’s salaries comparable to other provinces. 

The Green Party says it would expand public health care to include pharmacare, and establish a Crown corporation to bulk purchase and dispense prescription drugs. Basic dental would be included in provincial coverage and expanded for low-income children.

The Progress Party says it would produce a public list of available family doctors, eliminate the cap on virtual care visits per physician, expand the online program, and ensure virtual and telehealth physicians are paid at the same rate as in-person visits. It says it would eliminate out-of-pocket fees at primary care clinics, pass legislation requiring masking at all health centres and restrict Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) as an option unless all other solutions have been attempted. It would guarantee full-time employment for graduates of the registered nurse, licensed practicing nurse and health-care aide programs in the province.

The Saskatchewan United Party says it would allow non-government clinics to provide services while receiving public funding through government contracts. The party says it would reduce bureaucracy, open more medical school seats and residency spots, and recruit more nurses, lab technicians and other medical workers. It says it would offer paid tuition for health-care education in exchange for a commitment to serve in Saskatchewan for a period of time.

The Saskatchewan Party unveiled its new approach to homelessness in late 2023. So far it has committed $40.2 million over two years for 155 new supportive housing spaces in Regina and Saskatoon, 120 new permanent emergency shelter spaces and 30 new complex needs emergency shelter spaces. It has also announced 77 new supportive housing beds and 75 emergency shelter beds. It says it has an action plan focused on a recovery-oriented system of care. It has committed to creating 500 new addiction treatment spaces, but halted programs providing clean pipes and changed rules around needle exchanges.

The NDP says it would invest in mental health, addictions and housing supports.

The Buffalo Party says it would maintain the criminalization of illicit street drugs, with cannabis being the only exception. It would also establish treatment centres attached to jails, hospitals and some communities.

The PC Party has yet to release a policy position on addiction and mental health.

The party says it will create a drug reduction strategy, develop more safe consumption sites and treat addiction as a public health issue, not a crime.

The Saskatchewan Progress Party says it would fund harm reduction clinics, open a minimum of 16 hours per day, in all municipalities with more than 5,000 residents. It would also legislate a housing first policy and eliminate all administrative or restrictive barriers in the province’s Housing Corporation Act.

The Saskatchewan United party says it would focus on suppressing the drug supply and offering person-centred recovery programs.  It says its plan to open health care to the private sector, with services funded by the government, would mean more mental health clinics. It would also provide specialized training for health-care providers to help recognize and address the intersection of mental health and homelessness, and recruit more psychiatrists and mental health professionals by offering relocation assistance, education debt payment and competitive salaries.

Health Minister Everett Hindley has said discussions are ongoing on a nursing task force — a frequent request from the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses. Hindley has also said he believes the province’s efforts to recruit and retain health-care professionals, along with urgent care centres in Saskatoon and Regina, will alleviate wait times.

The NDP says it would create a nursing task force — a frequent request from the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses. The NDP also says it would open the Saskatoon City Hospital emergency room 24/7 to alleviate other hospitals in the city.

The Buffalo Party has yet to release a policy position on health care wait times.

The PC Party has yet to release a policy position on health care wait times.

The Saskatchewan Green Party has yet to release a policy position on health care wait times.

The Saskatchewan Progress Party has yet to release a policy position on health care wait times.

The Saskatchewan United Party says opening health care to the private sector, with services still funded by the government, would increase availability and reduce wait times.

In the 2024/2025 budget, the province committed $800,000 through its Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls+ Community Response Fund for grassroots organizations to develop and deliver projects that help prevent violence.

NDP Leader Carla Beck says her party would apologize in the legislature and take ownership for the damage caused by the IÎle-à-la-Crosse and Timber Bay residential schools, which were not included in the federal Indian Residential School Settlement process, and provide survivors with supports. Beck committed to hiring more doctors and nurses for northern communities, and getting more First Nations and Métis people working in health care. The party has also committed to working with First Nations and Métis people to respect inherent treaty rights and restore a physical government presence in the north.

The Buffalo Party says it will establish a special committee to collaborate with First Nations and Métis peoples to identify and address issues within the scope of provincial jurisdiction. That includes the lack of clean drinking water on reserves.

The PC Party says it will “open up the North” with $400 million over four years to upgrade the transportation system and ensure there is year-round infrastructure. That includes the modernization of the Cumberland House Highway 123, investment in air transport facilities and improvement/expansion of Wi-Fi capabilities in the Athabasca and Cumberland constituencies.

The Saskatchewan Green Party says its core values include recognizing the rights of Indigenous peoples to the basic means of survival, both economic and cultural, including rights to land and self-determination.

The Saskatchewan Progress party says it will amend the Elections Act to create a new MLA position for each treaty’s group of signatory bands and for the province’s Métis people. It says it would pass legislation requiring First Nations to be at the table alongside the government and corporations when negotiating resource contracts. The party also says it would develop a new consultation and advisory process.

The Saskatchewan United Party has yet to release a policy position on First Nations or Indigenous issues.

The party’s Saskatchewan Marshals Service is expected to be operational by 2026. The force will be focused on detecting, disrupting and deterring criminal activity in rural and remote areas, and is projected to cost around $20 million annually.

The NDP says its “tough on crime” platform would scrap the Saskatchewan Marshals Service and use its estimated $20 million in annual funding to hire more officers in rural areas for existing police forces. It says it would create a new "unexplained wealth" task force that would go after organized crime and drug traffickers, and spend $2 million on a rebate program for small businesses and places of worship to help install security upgrades.

The Buffalo Party says it would cancel any contract with the RCMP for provincial policing services and create a provincial police force as a replacement. It says it would enshrine individuals’ rights to own and use firearms, ease restrictions on law-abiding gun owners, increase penalties for criminal gun use and appoint a provincial firearms commissioner who operates separately from the provincial police force. It would also create an independent civilian oversight committee to investigate police conduct and explore alternative rural policing options.

The PC Party has yet to release a policy position on crime and policing.

The Green Party has yet to release a policy position on crime and policing.

The Saskatchewan Progress Party says it would scrap the Saskatchewan Marshals Service and use half of the estimated $20 million per year in savings to boost current policing services, particularly in rural areas.

The Saskatchewan United Party says it would increase funding for police departments to enhance recruitment, build specialized task forces and ensure officers are well-equipped. The party would establish a task force to target drug dealers and gangs. It would also direct prosecutors to pursue maximum sentences for those convicted of serious crimes and appoint judges “who prioritize the needs of victims and their families over the excuses of criminal.”

The Saskatchewan Party stands by its Parents' Bill of Rights, passed in 2023, which requires parental consent before a child under 16 can use a different gender-related name or pronoun at school, and for their children’s participation in a school’s sexual health curriculum. It also banned third-party organizations from providing sexual education in schools.

The Saskatchewan NDP opposed the passage of the Parents' Bill of Rights in 2023, saying it was a “smokescreen” for the Sask. Party to avoid accountability. Leader Carla Beck has said the NDP would repeal the law if elected.

The Buffalo Party says it would prohibit teaching about sex, sexual orientation and gender identity for students in Grade 5 or younger. Parents would be allowed to opt their children out of any lessons they believe contradict their values. The party would also criminalize “any sexualized performances,” which it says includes drag shows, where minors are present.

The PC Party says it would repeal the Parents' Bill of Rights. 

The Saskatchewan Green party has yet to release a policy position on 2SLGBTQ+ issues.

The Saskatchewan Progress Party says it would repeal the Parents' Bill of Rights within 30 days of taking office.

The Saskatchewan United Party says it would introduce opt-in policies requiring a parent's approval for “student’s participation in curriculum that broach controversial subjects.” The party says it would ban “biological males” from women’s only spaces, including change rooms and bathrooms, and ensure they do not participate in female sports.

The Saskatchewan Party says it will raise the personal income tax exemption, the spousal exemption, the child exemption and the seniors supplement by $500 each year for the next four years if it forms government. It did not cut or raise PST, or the $0.15/litre provincial gas tax, in its most recent budget.

NDP Leader Carla Beck has promised to not raise any taxes, and to suspend the $0.15/litre gas tax for six months and stop charging PST on children’s clothing and groceries.

The Buffalo Party says it would move toward a flat tax system and would reduce the PST, eventually removing it entirely. Leader Philip  Zajac says the party will eliminate the carbon tax “on everything” and institute an exemption to the capital gains tax.

PC Party Leader Rose Buscholl has said the party will not eliminate or suspend the province’s  $0.15/litre gas tax, as it is used to pay for roads and infrastructure, but would remove PST on children’s clothing and insurance for primary residences.

The Saskatchewan Green Party has yet to release a policy position on taxation.

The Saskatchewan Progress Party says it will raise taxes on large corporate entities by two per cent.

The Saskatchewan United Party has committed to cutting the PST in half, to three per cent from six per cent. The party would also permanently eliminate the  $0.15/litre gas tax. It will also introduce legislation enabling Saskatchewan to manage all tax structures, including national taxes.