Saskatchewan's response to tariffs from the United States included an order that goods and services procured by the provincial government must prioritize Canadian suppliers “with the goal of reducing or eliminating U.S. procurement.” (Abby Zieverink/CJME)

By CJME

Sask. Government says 99% of its procurement comes from Canadian companies

Apr 10, 2025 | 12:58 PM

The provincial government has crunched the numbers on procurement to determine what share of the goods and services it procures come from Saskatchewan and Canadian companies.

The announcement comes after Premier Scott Moe unveiled the province’s response to tariffs from the United States back in March, which included an order that goods and services procured by the provincial government must prioritize Canadian suppliers “with the goal of reducing or eliminating U.S. procurement.”

Since then, the government has faced criticism from the Saskatchewan NDP for using an American company for park reservations and hunting and fishing licences.

In a release, the provincial government said that over the past five years, 99 per cent of its procurement comes from Canadian companies, with less than one per cent sourced from American companies.

For Saskatchewan companies during that same period, that number is at 90 per cent. However, the government noted that local companies don’t always bid. When Saskatchewan companies do bid, that number jumps to 95 per cent.

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When it comes to SaskBuilds’ major projects, all general contractors were Canadian, with most of them based within the province.

“Our government will always put Saskatchewan people and Saskatchewan companies first,” David Marit, the minister responsible for SaskBuilds and procurement, said in a statement.

“With the vast majority of our procurement going to local businesses, we will continue to support local contractors and industries during this turbulent time.”

Meanwhile, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Highways said that more than 96 per cent of the value of awarded contracts went to Saskatchewan companies in the 2024-25 construction year.

In the first three quarters of 2024-25, 75 per cent of the procurement from Saskatchewan’s Crown corporations – adding up to $1.2 billion – went to Saskatchewan suppliers. Roughly three per cent went to U.S. companies over that same period.

The government also said 720 VLTs have been ordered from a Canadian subsidiary of a multi-national company that will build the VLTs in Mexico using Canadian, Mexican and Asian inputs. That comes after the provincial government ordered Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan back in March to source the $43 million in VLT and slot machines set to be upgraded this year from non-American suppliers.

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