Mayor Bill Powalinksy says that 2026 will be a pivot year for Prince Albert. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Looking ahead

Mayor Powalinsky; 2026 will be a pivot year for Prince Albert

Dec 29, 2025 | 6:00 AM

On the heels of a tumultuous 2025 for Canada, Saskatchewan and possibly the entire planet, Prince Albert Mayor Bill Powalinsky said he expects next year to see the city also changing direction.

The change may have been triggered by international events but how it impacts locally remains to be seen.

“I’m going to call this next year the pivot year,” Powalinsky said. “I can see where the economic development activity is going to pivot. We’re going to pivot very strongly on meeting social and health needs.”

The economic pivot will come from a stronger push to develop mines in the north along with trade corridors.

One thing Powalinsky has suggested is expanding ways to transport goods between Prince Albert and The Pas, Manitoba that would see a lot of new business come in.

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“I’ve had a brief chat with the Minister of Trade, Export and Development and there’s lot of interest,” he stated, “Something I’ve been very strong on is seeing if we can’t get a railway between Prince Albert and The Pas, which makes us a the hub for rail transport to Churchill.”

Social programs where the groundwork has been laid over the last several years will become active; one program is an emergency shelter on part of the land that was part of the City Works yard on Exhibition Drive and another is a Complex Needs Shelter along with dedicated teams to run mobile services.

Prince Albert is already an education hub with six post-secondary institutions operating in the city, it is a shopping hub for residents from northern Saskatchewan and will become a regional health care hub once the hospital expansion is complete, Powalinksy explained.

“As things develop our next focus will have to be to take a look at what is happening around us with industry and economy and look to see how we fit and what we can provide. It’s about building relationships, it’s about discovering what people need and then how we best meet the needs.”

The city has successfully convinced higher levels of government that Prince Albert’s needs are high, which led to a $3.6 million federal grant to implement the Complex Needs program. A provincial grant helped kick start a permanent complex needs shelter that will open in March 2026 and will outfit and pay for mobile complex needs teams that will work in the field.

“It’s very exciting for the fact that I’ve always said PA is a perfect place to do pilot programs.”

Where to locate a permanent emergency shelter was decided and work will begin as soon as the paperwork is done.

Internally, city hall will take on a different look as three senior staff retired at the end of 2025, City Manager Sherry Person, City Clerk Terri Mercier and Director of Finance Ramona Fauchoux.

Prince Albert Fire Department members were recognized by Premier Scott Moe for their contribution to what is called the second worst wildfire season in the province’s history.

Many members were also given long service awards from the Lieutenant Governor.

Powalinsky pointed to Coun. Dawn Kilmer’s achievement as being inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame by the Prince Albert Council of Women as an achievement by council.

The Solutions Hub on the city’s website was activated and is a “very viable and really effective front end for citizen’s inquiries, concerns and complaints,” he said.

The public can report things like encampments and needles and then check back in to see if the issue has been dealt with. In 2025, over 400 encampments were taken down.

“You can see that we’ve hit so many of the sport, cultural, business, safety issues that people have said are important to them.”

Another change that began in 2025 but won’t see fruit until the new year is the sale of the old Prince Albert pulp mill to BMI, an Ontario company that plans to retool the building into a “regional catalyst”.

BMI representatives also toured the downtown as they expressed interest in plans for renewal there.

Two major achievements dominated the recreation aspects of life in Prince Albert. One is the city hosting the World Men’s Softball Championships and the opening of the new Lake Country Leisure Centre’s twin ice pad and swimming pool.

Powalinsky said some careful consideration by council needs to be done when it comes to city finances and what they know is coming down the pipe.

“We’re carrying a fairly heavy debt load, we’re paying a few million a year in debt servicing costs. We’ve invested money that’s coming back into the community in a good way but it really does make you think very carefully about how will we move ahead.”

Large expenses that will face the city in the next year or two include the expectation that city money pays for furniture and equipment inside the hospital when the expansion opens and a major overhaul of the city’s wastewater treatment facilities.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmnceil.bsky.social