Saskatchewan Finance Minister Donna Harpauer. (file photo/980 CJME)

By 980 CJME Staff

REDUCED RED INK

Province posts lower than project deficit, year-end financial report shows

Jun 27, 2019 | 12:26 PM

Saskatchewan’s financial health for 2018-19 was better than expected, according to the provincial government.

Figures released by the provincial government on Thursday showed that Saskatchewan finished the fiscal year with a deficit of $268 million. That was $97 million lower than was budgeted, $112 million less than what was forecast in the third quarter, and $35 million less than the prior fiscal year.

“Our year-end actuals show that Saskatchewan’s fiscal position and financial outlook continue to improve,” finance minister Donna Harpauer said in a media release. “Our government’s plan to return the province to balance remains on track.”

Still, the province isn’t out of the financial woodwork just yet, she said while speaking with media at the Legislature Thursday morning.

“There is a number of nail-biting areas to watch as we go forward, because our surplus that we’re projecting is still very, very tight,” she said.

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The province is projecting a $34.4 million surplus for fiscal 2019-20.

Saskatchewan’s total revenue for the fiscal year was $14.45 billion, up $206 million from what was predicted in the budget and up $430 million compared to the 2017-18 fiscal year.

“The economic indicators in our province are indicating the economy is still growing, population is still growing, export trade has been growing, even though there has been headwinds,” she said, referencing Canada’s recent trade disputes with China over canola and meat products.

“These improved results over budget were largely the result of increased revenue from non-renewable resources,” Harpauer said in the release. “Potash revenue recorded the most notable increase, due to both higher prices and higher sales volumes.”

Potash revenue for the year was $536 million, up $227 million — or nearly 74 per cent — from the previous year. Non-renewable resource revenue increased by $277 million over the 2017-18 fiscal year.

Harpauer said that about 12 per cent of the 2017-18 budget relies on resource revenue. “Will we ever be in the position where we’re totally non-reliant on resource revenues? Probably not.”

She said this makes the province less dependent on resource revenue (and more financially stable) compared to the past, when 20 per cent or more of the budget relied on that money.

Total expense was $14.72 billion in 2018-19, an increase of $395 million from the prior fiscal year, and an increase of $108 million from what the province projected.

According to the government, about 72 per cent of the government’s expenses in 2018-19 was an investment in health care, education, and social services and assistance.