A Tale of Two Cities, Or Why Steady Hands Matter When Things Get Rough

How Saskatoon’s fiscal grit shamed Regina’s freefall; and why the Sask Party must take the blame for both cities and their problems.

This analysis draws on audited consolidated financial statements from the City of Saskatoon (fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024) and the City of Regina (fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024). All data is sourced from publicly available annual reports, consolidated financial statements, budget documents, and credit rating agency reports published by the cities of Saskatoon and Regina, supplemented by third-party economic analysis from Statistics Canada, the Conference Board of Canada, and provincial government publications where noted. Population figures are drawn from Statistics Canada census data and municipal estimates.

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Saskatoon ratepayers have earned the truth.

For those who haven’t been watching the numbers at City Hall in Saskatoon, like me, I’ll try to address the facts as plainly as possible.

While the apathy in Regina has left local governments twisting, Saskatoon’s own City Hall - quietly, deliberately - kept the lights on, filled the potholes, and resisted hardship at a scale most municipalities could only envy.

Under Mayor Charlie Clark, the City of Saskatoon pulled off one of the most disciplined, principled financial stewardship runs in Canadian municipal history.

Through the triple whammy of historic inflation, a skyrocketing homeless crisis, while battling against the undertow of the provincial government’s abdication of duty, Clark and his team didn’t just keep Saskatoon’s books balanced; they maintained Saskatoon’s AAA credit rating for a 23rd consecutive year.

It’s a feat so rare even Calgary, Edmonton, and Regina can’t touch it.

The final Clark budgets prioritized transparency and reserve building.