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City Administration is currently undertaking an amendment to the Riel Industrial Sector Plan to:  

• Integrate the direction(s) from the Province of Saskatchewan’s Saskatoon Freeway Phase 1 functional study. 

• Update the Riel Industrial Sector Plan development framework via updated land use, environment/open space, utility infrastructure, and transportation planning, including development phasing.  

• Incorporate the recommendations from the recently completed Natural Area Screening study and Market Study, and other studies that are planned or underway, including the City's North Saskatoon Network Planning Study and Industrial-Residential Interface Study. 

• Incorporate potential changes resulting from planned or pending development involving Indigenous land interests, which may include First Nations and Métis communities as well as other Indigenous organizations.  

• Incorporate considerations related to Wanuskewin Heritage Park’s pending application for UNESCO World Heritage Site status.  

• Incorporate considerations related to Meewasin’s potential National Urban Park designation. 

• Ensure the Riel Industrial Sector Plan aligns with changes to The Official Community Plan Bylaw, 2020 and other relevant updates to City bylaws, policies, plans, and initiatives. 

• Ensure the Riel Industrial Sector Plan aligns with relevant regional planning work, including P4G District Official Community Plan, District Zoning Bylaw, and North Concept Plan.  

Saskatoon is divided into Sectors (see the figure below). Each Sector is typically made up of six to ten neighbourhoods, creating areas that accommodate approximately 50,000 to 80,000 people. Unlike most sectors, the Riel Industrial Sector is comprised of Employment Areas. These Employment Areas provide jobs, goods, and services for Saskatoon and the surrounding region.  

To manage growth efficiently, a Sector Plan study is completed to create the overlying vision for each Sector. Sector Plans provide a broad framework for future urban development, including the location and size of future neighbourhoods and employment areas, major parks, and significant natural areas.  

Sector Plans have three main purposes: 

• To apply the vision for Saskatoon, as outlined in the Official Community Plan to an individual Sector. 

• To provide a framework for development of future Employment Areas via Concept Plans to ensure growth is balanced, compact, and connected to established areas. 

• To identify key land uses, environment and open space, servicing, and transportation needs that will be further refined through the Concept Plan process.  

Sector Plans are high level, preliminary planning studies and are future oriented. The timeframes for a Sector’s development are largely dependent on market conditions and availability of servicing. Sector Plans provide guidance on the phasing of development but not the timeline. 

The Riel Industrial Sector includes future employment areas, natural areas and open spaces, and future servicing and transportation infrastructure. The Riel Industrial Sector Plan Amendment study area is approximately 1,908 hectares (4,715 acres), divided by Highways 11 and 12. The west side of the study area includes the North West Development Area, bordered by Highway 16, Highway 12, and the future Saskatoon Freeway. The east side of the study area includes the North Development Area bordered by Highway 11, the South Saskatchewan River, Saskatoon Freeway, Penner Road, and Wanuskewin Heritage Park. Both sides of the study area are connected by 71st Street.  

The overall vision for the Riel Industrial Sector Plan Amendment is to facilitate economic development opportunities by expanding the City’s north employment area. Development of the Riel Industrial Sector is expected to:  

• Accommodate a wide range of industrial development in an efficient, economical, and sustainable manner.  

• Provide new jobs, goods, and services to the City and surrounding region.  

• Promote active and multimodal transportation options, including personal vehicles, public transit, cycling, and walking.  

• Accommodate efficient movement of goods by trucking, rail, and airline industries.

 Summary of key findings from Triton's Natural Area Screening report: 

Summary of independent recommendations from Triton’s Natural Area Screening report:  

• Conserving the Hudson Bay Swale Wetland Complex as an important natural area, habitat, and ecological corridor within the City of Saskatoon. 

• Minimizing natural area loss and degradation by incorporating buffers around natural areas. 

• Conducting wetland functional assessments as well as wildlife and rare plant species detection surveys. 

• Assessing the ecological connectivity of natural areas to target habitat corridors for conservation. 

• Further assessing groundwater and surface water conditions to evaluate ecological services including flood control, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and climate adaptation. 

• Monitoring the Hudson Bay Swale Wetland Complex for impacts to environmental function. 

• Conducting further studies on archaeological and heritage sensitive lands to avoid impacting these sites. 

Summary of key findings from the City's Market Study:   

• Saskatoon’s vacancy rate at the time of the report (1.6%) was below what’s considered a balanced market (3-5%). This means that demand for industrial land is outpacing supply. 

• 392,000 square feet of Saskatoon industrial floorspace is absorbed on average (5-year), meaning that without additional industrial floorspace being added in the short term, the remaining supply could be absorbed in 2024. 

• The leading industrial businesses in Saskatoon are Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, and Construction. Manufacturing, Construction, and Wholesale Trade account for nearly half of the 39,119 industrial jobs in Saskatoon. 

• A triangulation approach looking at population growth, employment growth, and historic absorption rates for industrial floorspace was used to project Saskatoon’s cumulative industrial floorspace demand from 2024 to 2054 when Saskatoon is expected to reach a population of 500,000. Cumulative demand could hit 4 million square feet by 2034, 7-million square feet in 2041, 10-million square feet in 2048, and 13-million square feet in 2054. 

• An estimated 914 hectares of new industrial land is required to reach 2054’s projected 13-million square feet of floorspace demand. There is an estimated 1,270 hectares worth of industrial development potential in the sector plan study area, which would meet and exceed the 2054 demand.