North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin speaks during a mayoral panel at the Construction Association of Saskatchewan’s ConEx builders expo in Saskatoon on Feb. 12, 2026. (Image Credit: City of North Battleford)

By battlefordsNOW staff

GROWTH

North Battleford markets growth edge while facing rising infrastruture costs

Feb 14, 2026 | 8:01 AM

North Battleford is promoting its readiness for growth as city officials work to attract developers, expand housing opportunities and support long-term infrastructure planning.

Mayor Kelli Hawtin highlighted those priorities while participating in a mayoral panel at the Construction Association of Saskatchewan’s ConEx builders expo in Saskatoon on Thursday, where municipal leaders discussed development planning, labour shortages and infrastructure investment across the province.

Hawtin said attending the panel allowed North Battleford to showcase opportunities to contractors and developers across Saskatchewan.

“Just being there was, first of all, really important,” she said. “We talked about some of the growth pressures and opportunities, what our capital plans are in the city, what type of infrastructure is coming down the line.”

(Image Credit: City of North Battleford)

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Hawtin said North Battleford stands out from larger centres because the city already has serviced residential and commercial land ready for development, along with shorter building permit turnaround times and council flexibility to accommodate projects.

She said those advantages help attract industry partners and encourage economic expansion in the community.

“We acknowledge that in order for municipalities to succeed, we also need our developers to succeed, and for developers to succeed, we need a good relationship with the municipalities,” Hawtin said.

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She also pointed to the region’s available workforce as another strength that can help support construction and industry growth.

Hawtin said the city is preparing for future investment in its water distribution system, roadways and underground infrastructure, along with projects connected to a regional arena and event centre.

“There’s a lot of capital investment that’s going to be required in those systems over the next number of years,” she said.

North Battleford has developed a 10-year capital plan to help forecast infrastructure needs, Hawtin said, although major projects still depend on funding support from other levels of government.

Hawtin said municipalities across Canada face similar financial challenges when maintaining infrastructure.

“Sixty per cent of infrastructure in Canada is located in municipalities and municipalities collect about eight to 12 cents of every tax dollar in the country,” she said. “We carry the burden of infrastructure without having the revenues to support it.”

She said municipal leaders continue advocating for long-term infrastructure programs that reflect community priorities, including the proposed reginal area and events centre.

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“When we talk about infrastructure in communities right now, the federal government is very focused on what they deem as core infrastructure, which is water and wastewater for the most part and road development,” Hawtin said. 

“In the city of North Battleford, we also acknowledge that core infrastructure is quality of life infrastructure like arenas or swimming pools or playgrounds.”

She also said provincial sales tax applied to construction projects has added costs for municipalities, although the city has not completed a full financial analysis of its overall impact.

“The addition of PST on construction has reduced the city’s ability in some cases to get work done because it’s a six per cent expense on all of our construction projects,” Hawtin said. 

“It adds to the cost of those projects for municipalities and it reduces the amount of work we can get done.”

READ MORE:

• If province wants construction they should remove PST on it: NDP, home builders say

The Saskatchewan NDP has recently called on the provincial government to remove the tax, arguing it limits construction activity. NDP Shadow Minister for Energy and Resources Sally Houser said the “job killing tax” is making life unaffordable and the time to take advantage of new federal infrastructure funding is now.

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com