Saskatchewan Manufacturing: a story of shared success

Building opportunities, rewarding jobs, and thriving businesses – those are just some of the benefits that manufacturers provide. Saskatchewan’s manufacturing sector is key to creating a resilient and diverse economy to the benefit of all people in the province. 

When we look at Saskatchewan’s manufacturing industry, what do we see? A diverse sector full of innovative technology, skilled workers, and business savvy entrepreneurs ensuring the province stays a step above the rest. More importantly, we see pride. Pride in the work they do, the impact they have, and the growth they’ve had right here in Saskatchewan. 

The provincial economy relies on the manufacturing sector and growth in the last year alone is impressive. Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan for 2030 outlines a goal to increase manufacturing exports from the province by 50 per cent. In 2022, Saskatchewan exported $9.9 billion in manufactured goods. That’s an increase of 28.5 per cent compared to 2021, and it’s 18.8 per cent of Saskatchewan’s net exports over the year. 

What has been driving export growth? The province’s nearly 2,000 manufacturing companies play a pivotal role. Saskatchewan has top-tier manufactured products, including fabricated metals, food manufacturing, and machinery. Last year, Saskatchewan’s manufacturers had tremendous success with $25.6 billion in total shipments across a variety of categories, including:

• Food products – accounted for over 28 per cent

• Chemical manufacturing – accounted for over 13 per cent

• Machinery manufacturing – accounted for over nine per cent

• Wood manufacturing – accounted for over four per cent

The Government of Saskatchewan understands a competitive business environment is key to ensuring all sectors can thrive. The Province continues to offer a suite of incentives and a client-focused service to make doing business easy. 

To further build the economy and move forward on its commitment to economic reconciliation, in 2022, the Government of Saskatchewan established the Saskatchewan Indigenous Investment Finance Corporation (SIIFC). The SIIFC provides up to $75 million in loan guarantees to support increased Indigenous investment. The corporation was launched to improve access to capital for Indigenous communities and their economic entities to invest in the areas of natural resource development and value-added agriculture.

All of this moves forward the Province’s goal of growing Indigenous participation in Saskatchewan’s natural resource sector. It’s also an important step in furthering economic reconciliation with the province’s Indigenous communities and organizations by enhancing their ability to gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects.

Food manufacturing shipments continue to be a successful area for the province with $7.2 billion in shipments. That’s 28.1 per cent of the total in the province and they are poised for even further growth. Machinery manufacturing is also a major growth area, with $2.4 billion in shipments and is on track for more growth this year.

Another aspect of fostering a competitive business environment is to continuously grow and diversify the number of export markets. In 2022, exports from Saskatchewan’s manufacturing sector reached 120 markets. Saskatchewan now exports more than $1 billion in total exports to 10 markets— Brazil, Middle East and North Africa, India, Bangladesh, ASEAN, Japan, China, the European Union, the United States, and Mexico.

The people who work within the sector and the careers they pursue are also diversifying. This includes the skilled talent within production facilities, engineering fields, consulting firms, software development, specialized trades, and many others. There were nearly 32,000 people employed within the manufacturing industry in 2022.

One defining feature of this workforce is productivity. In Canada, the average manufacturing Gross Domestic Product per hour worked is $69.30. Saskatchewan’s manufacturing sector is significantly above that average at $81.50. This is the second highest in Canada, and one of only two provinces above the national average.

What’s next?

The Government of Saskatchewan is committed to protecting the provincial economy, and growth in the manufacturing industry is a major part of that. As mentioned in the Throne Speech, the Province is developing an investment attraction strategy to encourage further investment into Saskatchewan and its key sectors. The government is also committed to sharing Saskatchewan’s story on the global stage, promoting the work this province is doing across all sectors. This will support the manufacturing industry as it continues to diversify the economy and expand global and domestic markets, while creating jobs and opportunities within the province.

The past year was a successful one for Saskatchewan and its manufacturing industry, but the work is far from over. Growth and expansion will continue to succeed through meaningful partnership with businesses and communities. The province is poised to capitalize on shared innovation and expertise to achieve growth records while remaining the stable supplier the world needs.