City Manager's Message
Message from City Manager Jeff Jorgenson
Saskatoon is an exceptional city, known for being a great place to live, work, learn and play, and the quality of life we’ve come to enjoy. The efficient and effective delivery of key civic services, programs and projects to the residents we serve contribute greatly to this.
We have a bold vision to embrace rapid growth and to enhance our community. Our vision and how we will achieve it are outlined in the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan - a guiding document that provides a framework for our focus on key priority areas that reflect our community values. The plan outlines the specific outcomes City Council and Administration will work on together.
The theme for our 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, miyo-pimatisiwin, is a Cree phrase that translates as “the good life.” It reflects our journey towards healing and balance and the importance of lifelong learning and improving.
Saskatoon is recognized globally as a centre for education, innovation and creativity. With our competitive tax policies and stable governance system, Saskatoon is a lucrative place to invest and do business. There is always more to do to improve our quality of life. We have significant work ahead of us, and we’re prepared to meet challenges head-on.
I invite you to explore our website to find out more about what City Council and Administration are doing to deliver quality programs and services to our community.
We strive to be the best managed City in Canada
Planning for the Future
Guided by our Strategic Plan, we’re committed to planning ahead and dedicating resources to new opportunities and rising to the challenges of a growing vibrant city. We invite the community to follow our progress by reading the Strategic Plan Progress Reports.
Increasing Fiscal Responsibility
The 2024/2025 Multi-Year Business Plan and Budget focused on investments in valued core civic services and service levels, community safety, transportation and our roadways and vital infrastructure for the residents we serve. By adopting a longer-term view of our financial planning, we provide a fully transparent snapshot of our future budget planning with residents.
Citizen Satisfaction
Our 2024 Civic Satisfaction & Performance Survey results reveal that 84% of Saskatoon residents are satisfied with life in our city. This level of satisfaction is consistent with the positive feedback we received in 2023 and 2021. Almost three-quarters of respondents rated the quality of life in Saskatoon as good or very good. Although there has been a slight decline, Saskatoon still fares well compared to national trends, where satisfaction levels are generally falling.
Highest Population Growth Rate in Province
According to Statistics Canada, Saskatoon added 12,896 persons with an estimated population of 308,626 in 2024. Saskatoon’s growth rate of 4.36% is the highest rate in the province for communities over 5,000 persons, and 1.83 percentage points above the Saskatchewan growth rate. Saskatoon accounted for about 42.2% of the total provincial population growth in 2024.
Service, Savings and Sustainability
We continue working together to build a culture of innovation and creativity, and to grow Saskatoon in a sustainable way. I invite you to review our 2024: Service, Savings & Sustainability Report, it showcases how we continuously improve the way we deliver services for residents of Saskatoon and find ongoing new efficiencies in the way we do our work every day.
Awards
The City is a Great Place to Work
The City of Saskatoon was named one of Saskatchewan’s Top Employers for 2025. The competition recognizes Saskatchewan employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work.
The City of Saskatoon has also been recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for 2025. This award celebrates employers across Canada that have exceptional workplace diversity and inclusion programs.
Our Stable, Sound and Robust Financial Future
S&P Global (S&P) reaffirmed the City of Saskatoon’s credit rating as the highest rating possible, a ‘AAA’ credit rating with a “stable” outlook. The City has maintained the ‘AAA’/Stable credit rating for twenty-three years since S&P first began affirming the City’s credit ratings in 2002. Maintaining the top ‘AAA’ credit rating through continued economic impacts and global pressures is a testament to the City of Saskatoon’s strong financial management and adaptability.
In 2024, the City of Saskatoon again received the Canadian Award for Financial Reporting (CAnFR) from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada. The CAnFR award was presented for the City’s 2022 Annual Report. This represents a significant accomplishment for municipal government and for our financial management team. The award recognizes the City’s commitment to high standards and excellence in financial transparency and accountability.