(File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Job Numbers

Sask. NDP calls out Sask. Party for small job growth in P.A. & Northern Saskatchewan

Jan 9, 2024 | 11:00 AM

The Sask. NDP believes Prince Albert and Northern Saskatchewan are an afterthought for the Sask. Party.

Aleana Young, the official opposition critic for jobs and the economy, made this comment to paNOW after reviewing Statistics Canada’s latest job numbers released last week.

It showed the region saw no job growth during the year, but Young went on to say how this has been the case for the past five years. According to Statistics Canada, the region had about 1,500 more workers at the end of 2023 than it did at the end of 2019.

“Month over month, there’s going to be some ups and downs…but it’s clear under this government there’s been [little to] no job growth,” Young said.

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Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be expected that some areas wouldn’t see a lot of growth. The Saskatoon area has added over 27,000 workers, the Regina area over 6,000 workers, and the Yorkton area around 2,500 workers.

Young believes the north should be seeing a lot more than it is due to all the economic benefits it has such as the agriculture, forestry, critical minerals, and oil and gas sectors.

“When you look at the five-year record for employment, labour force, economic activity… it’s clear that this is unfortunately a part of the province that has been left behind,” said Young.

In her opinion, the province needs to develop a jobs plan for each region to ensure there’s adequate growth in all areas, not just Saskatoon and Regina.

Young added if the NDP gets elected later this year, this will be one of their first tasks.

“Any government worth its stripes would be interested in real economic activity, real jobs, and real prosperity for the people of this province.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training for the Saskatchewan Government said in a statement that they’re focused on supporting every region.

“While we recognize recent labour force growth in the province has not been equal across all regions, the Government of Saskatchewan is actively implementing targeted initiatives to enable job growth and labour force participation in the North. In 2023-24, the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training is investing more than $14 million in skills training, pre-employment and workforce development programs to provide people access to the skills they need to work in northern Saskatchewan – while targeted investments in the North in the resource sector, in particular, are generating more and more opportunity.”

They added that immigration is also playing a part in the numbers. Saskatoon and Regina lead the province in new Canadians, though Prince Albert is third.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow