News Releases

The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Zoo) is proud to join the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) as its newest Institutional Member, underscoring its dedication to the care and conservation of animals and their habitats worldwide.

“We are thrilled to join WAZA showcasing our unwavering commitment to animal care, welfare and education,” says Jeff Mitchell, Zoo Manager. “As the only accredited zoo in Saskatchewan, we are proud to be leaders in conservation and education in Canada. Our mission is to create impactful experiences that strengthen the bond between visitors, wildlife and natural environments. Being part of WAZA empowers us to achieve this goal, enhancing our ability to make a meaningful difference.”

Since its inception in 1935, WAZA has been committed to guiding, encouraging and supporting zoos, aquariums and like-minded organizations globally in animal care and welfare, environmental education and global conservation.

As a member of the WAZA network, the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo adheres to WAZA’s Code of Ethics and Animal Welfare and joins over 400 members worldwide. WAZA promotes cooperation between leading zoos, aquariums, national and regional associations as well as with leading wildlife experts, academies and universities. WAZA provides support for species-conservation management and husbandry of animals in human care, while encouraging the highest standards in member institutions.

The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo has become the 13th institution in Canada to achieve WAZA accreditation, joining the ranks of Assiniboine Park & Zoo, Calgary Zoo and Toronto Zoo. For more information, visit saskatoon.ca/zoo or waza.org.

The City’s second annual Round Dance and Feast is taking place this Friday, March 28 at the Cosmo Civic Centre.

A Round Dance is a traditional event in First Nations culture that celebrates community unity through the coming together of the community and its people. The theme for this event is miyo-pimatisiwin (MEE-oh pim-MOT-tis-oo-win), which means “the good life for all” in the Plains Cree language.

“We had such an incredible response from our staff and community last year when we held our very first Round Dance and Feast, and we are experiencing that same level of enthusiasm for this year’s event,” says Melissa Cote, Director of Indigenous Initiatives.

Community members and City of Saskatoon employees have volunteered their time to ensure everything from set up to take down runs smoothly.

The City has also benefitted from having a few external partners help with the cost of hosting the Round Dance and Feast. “We’re grateful for the generous financial support from The Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Nutrien and the Saskatoon Public Library. We thank these organizations for contributing and helping us create an event that brings our community together,” says Cote.

Everyone is welcome to attend this family-friendly, alcohol-free event. The community feast takes place from 4:00-6:00 p.m. and the round dance begins at 6:00 p.m.

Media please note: Videography or photography of the feast is not permitted out of respect for ceremonial practices. Videography and photography of the round dance is permitted except when smudging and praying is happening during the giveaway ceremony and during the first dance. We request that any interviews with City of Saskatoon spokespeople take place on Friday morning, as we will not be able to accommodate interviews at the event.

The City’s second annual Round Dance and Feast is taking place this Friday, March 28 at the Cosmo Civic Centre.

A Round Dance is a traditional event in First Nations culture that celebrates community unity through the coming together of the community and its people. The theme for this event is miyo-pimatisiwin (MEE-oh pim-MOT-tis-oo-win), which means “the good life for all” in the Plains Cree language.

“We had such an incredible response from our staff and community last year when we held our very first Round Dance and Feast, and we are experiencing that same level of enthusiasm for this year’s event,” says Melissa Cote, Director of Indigenous Initiatives.

Community members and City of Saskatoon employees have volunteered their time to ensure everything from set up to take down runs smoothly.

The City has also benefitted from having a few external partners help with the cost of hosting the Round Dance and Feast. “We’re grateful for the generous financial support from The Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Nutrien and the Saskatoon Public Library. We thank these organizations for contributing and helping us create an event that brings our community together,” says Cote.

Everyone is welcome to attend this family-friendly, alcohol-free event. The community feast takes place from 4:00-6:00 p.m. and the round dance begins at 6:00 p.m.

Renovations made to the former Saskatchewan Transportation Company parcel depot for use as a temporary enhanced emergency shelter are complete. The City has turned the renovated building over and The Mustard Seed is preparing for shelter operations, with an anticipated opening in April.

In September 2024, City Council approved an 18-month permit for temporary operation of a 30 to 40 bed enhanced emergency residential shelter at 210 Pacific Avenue. Council also approved a request to lease the City-owned building to the Government of Saskatchewan at a below market rate. 

After hearing feedback from nearby residents and businesses, the City committed to implement changes to the site plan of the temporary shelter as detailed here. Measures include:

• Fencing to create a sense of space for those using the shelter, and delineation between the shelter and surrounding businesses. There will be no walk-in access off Pacific Avenue. Facility access for shelter guests will only be from Ontario Avenue.
• Fencing will feature artwork, created by local Indigenous artists and youth, to connect the shelter to the community and add vibrancy to the neighbourhood. This will include a series of original hand painted banners depicting Indigenous stories by local artists, Josh Wāpiskisiw and Honey Constant-Inglis, and a group of young multi-cultural artists from W.P. Bate School. Indigenous storytelling during the winter season is a cherished Indigenous tradition for passing on knowledge from generation to generation, sharing culture, history, teachings, spirituality and language. Interpretive plaques will be placed onsite to explain the stories.
• 7-day-per-week, extended-hour security/support dedicated to the downtown with a proactive priority focus on the vicinity around the proposed shelter.

Representatives from the City, Saskatoon Fire Department, Saskatoon Police Service, Government of Saskatchewan and The Mustard Seed are also meeting with neighbours in the immediate vicinity ahead of the opening to discuss the operating and safety plan. More information on the integrated operating and safety plan can be read here.

City Administration, in collaboration with the Government of Saskatchewan, is in the final stages of identifying a permanent site for the enhanced emergency shelter. An update will be provided when available. 

The City of Saskatoon received a formal offer from SK Recycles (formerly Multi-Material Stewardship Western) to transition to its new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) household recycling program. This follows the May 2024 approval of Household Packaging and Paper Stewardship Program Regulations by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment. As a result, the provincial stewardship agency, SK Recycles, will take over municipal recycling programs. A report to the April 1, 2025 meeting of the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services provides a detailed analysis of the options available to the City. 

Due to a number of considerations, such as existing contractual requirements for blue carts and compost depots, City Administration recommends maintaining the status quo with no changes to both the curbside and multi-unit residential recycling programs until December 2027.

Looking to the future, Administration recommends signaling its intent to participate in the SK Recycles-led collection models for both programs, starting in January 2028, by making a formal written submission to SK Recycles. This option would allow time to transition the funding model for waste services that had previously been supported by SK Recycles funding; it is also expected to cause no disruption to the service level and would be the lowest cost. Residents will learn more about the service-provider change in the months leading up to the 2028 SK Recycles implementation.

By 2028, all Saskatchewan communities will transition to a full Extended Producer Responsibility program for household packaging and paper, joining the SK Recycles program.

Everyone in Saskatoon is invited to come to one of a series of information events to be held the week of March 17th, 2025, where the future configuration of the Link rapid transit project along College Drive will be displayed and City staff will be available to answer questions. The come-and-go events will be held at various venues along the College corridor and have been scheduled to give several opportunities to come view the designs. This marks a major milestone in the project as construction moves forward toward a goal of a 2028 service launch.

“The College Drive section of the Link route is incredibly important, as it will move a large number of people from, to and through the area,” says Terry Schmidt, General Manager of Transportation and Construction. “These events will give people the opportunity to see where stations will be located as well as give them an idea of how transit, traffic, pedestrians and cyclists will move along College Drive once Link is operational.”

People are invited to attend any of the following events:

March 17
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
University of Saskatchewan Place Riel

March 18
2:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
University of Saskatchewan Place Riel

6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Merlis Belsher Place

March 19
10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Royal University Hospital (main floor)

3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Merlis Belsher Place

More information can be found at saskatoon.ca/linkcollegedrive.

Saskatoon has some of the lowest municipal property tax levels in Canada due to its prudent fiscal management and relatively diverse revenue mix.  In 2024 for example, a residential property owner would pay about $6.35 for every $1,000 of assessed value while non-residential properties would pay about $10.35 for every $1,000 of assessed value.

Saskatoon is among the very few cities that set an explicit tax ratio as the preferred approach to distribute the tax burden between residential and non-residential properties needed to fund City services. The current Tax Ratio Policy in Saskatoon, first approved by City Council in 2017 and maintained in 2021, set a tax ratio of 1.59 to 1 (or 1.63 to 1 after including commercial appeal contingency). This means that for every $1.00 in property tax paid by a residential property owner, a non-residential property owner paid $1.63 on an equivalent assessed value.

“It’s important to note that the City does not collect any additional property tax revenue because of reassessment or tax policy decisions such as the tax ratio. These changes and decisions result in a redistribution of the overall property tax shared amongst property owners,” says Clae Hack, Chief Financial Officer. “While individual properties may be impacted with property tax increases or decreases, overall, no new property tax revenue is generated from these changes and decisions for the City. In other words, the tax pie stays the same size but the way the pie is divided is what shifts.”

After the provincially legislated 2025 Reassessment, the Standing Policy Committee (SPC) on Finance on February 5, 2025, was briefed on the changes to property values, notably that residential properties assessed value in Saskatoon increased by 13%, on average, while assessed values for non-residential properties decreased, on average, by 2%. These results are reflective of the market conditions as of January 1, 2023.

Due to the relative increase in residential property values and a relative decrease in non-residential property values from the 2025 reassessment, the property tax ratio would have to adjust to collect the same amount of tax revenue from both residential and non-residential sectors.  To achieve this, a ratio of 1.88 to 1, the revenue neutral ratio, would be required to maintain the same distribution of the municipal property tax burden for both property classes.

As outlined in the report heading to the March 5, 2025, SPC on Finance meeting the Administration is recommending a tax ratio of 1.75 to 1.  Some of the reasons this ratio is being recommended include:

1. Splitting the difference between the existing ratio of 1.63 (including commercial contingency) and the revenue neutral ratio of 1.88 acknowledges the shifts in value the City is seeing between residential and non-residential from reassessment while at the same time offers some level of smoothing to avoid significant shifts between the classes;
2. This decision is consistent with past Council decisions where the City has lowered the ratio from 2.41 in 1998 to 1.63 in 202, when the City was seeing larger commercial value increases as compared to residential.  In this reassessment cycle, as residential values are seeing larger increases than non-residential values, it is consistent to have a corresponding movement in the ratio to minimize significant shifts as in the past;
3. At a 1.75 ratio, Saskatoon will continue to have one of the lowest property tax ratios and rates in western Canada, the city would maintain a competitive edge in terms of non-residential property taxes ; and
4. Even with an increase in the ratio to 1.75, many non-residential properties within Saskatoon will see a decrease in their property taxes. In 2024, the City collected 32% of its total property tax revenue from non-residential properties; with the proposed recommendation of a 1.75 ratio, this will fall to 30.7% in 2025.  This means that overall, the City will collect less from non-residential properties in 2025 than it did in 2024.  As 1.88 is the revenue neutral ratio, anything below this amount will still see a shift from commercial properties to residential.

At the SPC Finance Committee’s next meeting on March 5, 2025, Committee will be presented with five tax ratio approaches/options for consideration. The options presented by Administration differ in terms of property tax implications for the various property classes. There will be some trade-offs if Council decides to redistribute the municipal property tax burden amongst property classes. Council will review all tax ratio policy options presented, including Administration’s recommendation to adopt Option 3, which sets the non-residential (commercial) to residential tax ratio at 1:75 to 1 for the years 2025-2029. As noted, a 1.75 to 1 tax ratio would still be among the lowest in Western Canada, and the effective tax rate on non-residential would also remain one of the lowest in Canada.

“There is no perfect answer to what the City’s tax ratio should be,” Hack adds. “There are multiple considerations that go into this decision including the impact of the 2025 reassessment, how competitive Saskatoon’s residential and non-residential property tax rates are compared to other major western Canadian cities and overall principles around how much each property class should contribute to the City’s operational requirements. Overall, I am confident Committee will consider all implications to make its best decision.”

Visit saskatoon.ca/propertytax

On March 5, 2025, the City of Saskatoon will present the Preliminary Year-End Financial Results for the year ending December 31, 2024, to the Standing Policy Committee on Finance.

“I am pleased to report that the City’s preliminary 2024 year-end financial results indicate a surplus of $12.27 million, representing a 1.96% favourable variance from our approved civic budget,” says Clae Hack, Chief Financial Officer. “The City’s investment portfolio performed better than expected and contributed $9.14 million to this surplus, thanks to stronger interest rates and higher bond returns than originally planned in the budget.”

After accounting for the $9.14 million investment income surplus, the remaining civic operating budget realized a surplus of $3.13 million, equivalent to a 0.50% variance from the approved civic budget of $626.18 million. Some of the other key variances in 2024 that contributed to this surplus include: (Appendix 2 provides a detailed overview of all operating budget variances in 2024)

Transit Operations generated a $4.96 million surplus: 

• Transit revenues were $2.10 million higher than anticipated due to increased ridership and higher than expected UPass revenue.
• in addition, Transit had expenditure savings of $2.86 million primarily due to fuel and salary savings and vacant positions.

Administration engaged to find corporate-wide savings of $4.87 million:

• to help offset budgetary pressures, Administration gained favourable savings in staff training and travel, staff vacancies, materials, office supplies and other expenditures among the Civic Operating or Property Tax supported Business Lines.

Offset by a $6.48 million deficit in the Snow & Ice Management program: 

• activation of the Roadways Emergency Snow Response Plan (ERP) in March 2024 resulted in a $5.50 million deficit.
• 9 additional snow events in 2024 compared to the annual budgeted number of 5 to 6 snow events, caused an additional $980,000 overage.

“Administration recommends that the majority of the 2024 surplus be allocated to the City’s Fiscal Stabilization Reserve, which has been heavily relied upon in recent years,” Hack adds. “We recommend transferring funds to bring the Fiscal Stabilization Reserve to $17.04 million, leaving $6.90 million in the Snow and Ice Management Contingency Reserve. This allocation will help offset future operating budget deficits or other unforeseen challenges that may arise in the coming years.” 

Utilities 2024 Year-End Results: Details Appendix 3

The following City Utility surpluses or deficits were realized in 2024, resulting in an overall $10.73 million surplus or 2.46% positive variance from the approved budget:

• Water Utility reported a year-end surplus of $5.80 million.
• Wastewater Utility reported a year-end surplus of $4.10 million.
• Waste Services Utility reported a year-end surplus of $757,018.
• Storm Water Management Utility reported a year-end surplus of $220,129.
• Saskatoon Light & Power (SL&P) reported a deficit of $145,820.

The recommendations on the allocation of the surplus funds in 2024 are subject to the confirmation of the City’s year-end financial status as conducted by the annual external accountant’s audit process. The City’s 2024 Annual Report will be next released this summer.

The City of Saskatoon is committed to ongoing financial transparency, accountability and sound financial management. This is evidenced in its historically stable budgetary performance; the City has retained the ‘AAA’/Stable credit rating for twenty-three years, since S&P first began affirming the City’s credit rating in 2002.

For more information visit saskatoon.ca/budget

The City of Saskatoon is looking for resident input on creating a more accessible, inclusive and barrier free community for everyone who lives, works and plays here.

“Over the next year, the City must develop an accessibility plan that reflects the needs and experiences of all residents,” says Stryker Calvez, Director of Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) for the City of Saskatoon. “We recognize the responsibility we have to find, fix, and remove barriers so that everyone, especially people with accessibility needs, can be part of strong and inclusive communities.” Developing an accessibility plan for the City is a requirement of the Accessible Saskatchewan Act, which states that the City must have a plan in place by December 2025.

In order to create this plan, the City is looking for resident participation to complete an accessibility survey. The survey opens February 27 and can be found on the City’s Engage page. It will remain open until March 27, 2025. After completing the survey, residents will have an option to sign up to participate in focus groups and to be eligible for a random draw for one of many $50 gift certificates.

“We have done a lot of work to make these surveys as accessible as possible,” says Calvez. “There are options to complete long or short form surveys and we have tested them to ensure they are compatible with assistive technology, such as screen readers.” Paper copies of the survey will be made available and other options exist for those who request them.

Developing a plan for improved accessibility is not just about making buildings more accessible, although that is important. It is about providing information and employment opportunities in more accessible ways such as making information assistive technology friendly and using language translation services. “We also need to hear from our residents about how we can improve their accessibility and our accommodations when it comes to transportation, service animals and buying goods and services from the City,” says Calvez.

Removing barriers and improving accessibility in our communities is a complex task. “We fully recognize that we may not get everything right the first time,” says Calvez. “There is going to be some trial and error but we are committed to working with our communities to create a more inclusive community for everyone.”

Residents can learn more about the plan on our Accessibility Plan page.
 

The City of Saskatoon is proud to announce its recognition as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for 2025. This honour reflects the City's ongoing commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.

"At the City, we want our employee population to reflect the residents that we serve every day and have our community see themselves in our organization. Every year we are improving, and we remain committed to creating a workplace where everyone can thrive," says Chelsey Mack, Director of HR Shared Services.

The City’s diversity and inclusiveness initiatives are wide-ranging and ongoing from reaching out to community through career fairs and recruitment presentations, to hosting a Reconciliation Town Hall for employees where a smudging ceremony was held in council chambers for the first time.

The City also values the essential connection between mental wellness and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. “We are committed to fostering a workplace where everyone feels empowered to be their authentic selves, free from the need to hide any part of their identity,” says Mack.

Canada's Best Diversity Employers recognizes employers across Canada that have exceptional workplace diversity and inclusiveness programs. This competition recognizes successful diversity initiatives in a variety of areas, including programs for employees from five groups: (a) women; (b) members of visible minorities; (c) persons with disabilities; (d) Indigenous peoples; and (e) lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) peoples.

Canada's Best Diversity Employers for 2025 are published and distributed online today in The Globe and Mail and on Eluta.ca. The City has now been honoured with this award for the tenth time.