REGINA - There is a mainly positive, but mixed, reaction from the business community to the 2025 provincial budget.
In particular, there is support being expressed for the tax changes brought in with the budget.
The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce said in a news release they are pleased with the investments to support businesses in the province. Among the measures they gave a thumbs up to were creation of a 45 per cent credit for equity investment for small and medium enterprises in certain sectors, permanently maintaining the small business tax rate at one per cent, and a $285,000 investment to establish a Young Entrepreneur Bursary providing $5,000 grants to 57 eligible young entrepreneurs — a bursary the Sask Chamber will administer.
The Chamber also supported the 20 per cent increase in the Graduate Retention Program’s tax credit benefits.
“We are pleased to see the government’s investments in business priorities. The announcements made today will help to fuel growth of SMEs, promote entrepreneurship and strengthen Saskatchewan’s economy for the future,” said Prabha Ramaswamy, CEO, Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, in a statement.
The Saskatchewan Highway Construction Association also voiced support for the budget, pointing in a news release to the spend for provincial highways. Highways is getting funding of $777 million with $421 million dedicated to capital projects.
“The SHCA thanks Highways Minister Marit for his commitment to ensuring that infrastructure needs for the province were addressed in this year’s budget,” said Shantel Lipp, SHCA president, in a statement. “As we know the Saskatchewan economy is reliant on exporting our goods outside of our provincial borders and the current challenges that the province faces means that we have to prepare to expand our reach beyond traditional trading partners. And to reach that goal we have to have reliable and safe infrastructure. Today’s budget helps to reach that goal.”
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business expressed worry, however, that there was not enough in the budget to address the threat of tariffs from President Donald Trump or other countries.
“Unfortunately this budget doesn't include any plan to offset the potential impacts of tariffs, should we find ourselves in a long-term trade dispute with the U.S., with China,” said Brianna Solberg, CFIB provincial director. “And I think right now our members are telling us that the unpredictability and the uncertainty that they're facing is greater now than it was even at the height of the pandemic. And so ultimately it remains to be seen, but I think more relief and more affordability measures will be needed to help offset the impacts of tariffs.”
Solberg’s organization represents small businesses and she noted the impact tariffs were having on the decisions being made.
“Yeah, well just ultimately it's very difficult right now to make any investment decisions. We know that business owners are holding off on hiring new employees or increasing employee wages or benefits. They have plans to increase their prices over the next 12 months, just to help offset some of the cost increases that they're facing. And they worry that that will disincentivize consumers from supporting their business.
"And we represent small businesses, right? So these are very small, local, independent businesses who are operating on very thin margins. And many of them from month to month and still facing a lot of debt from the pandemic. And so every dollar matters to them.”
The lack of a contingency on tariffs particularly had the opposition New Democrats fuming on Budget Day.
“It's like the Premier and the Finance Minister woke up in the twilight zone, and the last three months didn't happen,” said Sally Housser, NDP critic for energy and resources.
“I mean, this would have been a bad budget if it was delivered last year.
But how you can deliver a budget that so ignores the current reality we're facing, it's like they started putting it together in October, and at no point did somebody go ‘we need to adapt, we need to change course, we need to have a contingency plan like so many of the other provinces have done.’ It does nothing to address people's anxieties and real fears about their jobs and their economic future.”
In particular Housser said the budget does nothing to address “what we can control within our own borders here in Saskatchewan.”
“Nothing about building the energy infrastructure we need right here at home. People are really looking for leadership right now. They're looking for strength. They're looking for somebody to stand up to the threat we're facing from Donald Trump and the United States. And man, this budget isn't it."
Canadian Taxpayers Federation worried about debt
For the Canadian Taxpayers Federation their concerns about the budget were of a different order. They liked some of the tax exemption measures, but particularly expressed worries about the $2.4 billion in debt being added.
“It's irresponsible for the government to continue to borrow money and pile debt onto the backs of taxpayers,” said Gage Haubrich, Prairie Director of CTF. “We're seeing $2.4 billion more debt being added to the province's debt this year, and it's going to cost taxpayers, and taxpayers already can't afford the interest payments that the debt costs them every single year.”
The day before the budget, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation brought their debt clock to the front of the Legislature to highlight that issue. Haubrich said the budget needed to find a way to cut spending and find savings for taxpayers, something he said the budget did not do.
“Yeah, the problem with more government debt is it means that more money every single year that Saskatchewanians send to Regina has to be wasted on interest payments. This year the government's looking at almost $880 million in interest payments on that debt, costing every single Saskatchewanian $705. If you ask a Saskatchewanian: ‘would they rather have $705 be spent on services or tax relief, or on debt interest because the government keeps irresponsibly borrowing?’, I think you have your answer.”
