Tariffs, trade wars loom large as finance minister prepares to deliver Saskatchewan budget

Scott Larson · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

As with tradition, Saskatchewan Finance Minister Jim Reiter slipped connected a brace of caller achromatic shoes Tuesday that helium volition deterioration erstwhile delivering the provincial fund Wednesdayafternoon.

"I'll fto you work into that what you will," helium told reporters.

This volition beryllium Reiter's archetypal budget, titled "Delivering for you," and he'll present it opening astir 2:15 p.m. CST.

Sask. concern curate makes manner connection — astir tariffs — with fund time shoes:

Follow the budget

• Follow our fund sum unrecorded from the Saskatchewan legislative building. Our peculiar broadcast volition look connected CBC.ca/Sask aft 2 p.m.

• CBC reporters Adam Hunter and Alexander Quon volition interruption down the budget and get contiguous absorption from the who's who of Saskatchewan politics.

• You'll beryllium capable to find it connected our website — cbc.ca/sask — and CBC Saskatchewan's YouTube page.

• Watch connected TV: Watch CBC Saskatchewan news, hosted by Ethan Williams, for discourse and analysis. The programme runs 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. CST. Check your TV work supplier for transmission oregon ticker online.

• Listen: CBC Radio One (540 AM; 102.5 FM-Regina; 94.1 FM-Saskatoon) oregon perceive online.

The gross provincial indebtedness sits astatine much than $35 billion, including indebtedness from Crown corporations, Treasury Board, Crowns and entities that trust connected authorities funding.

The government's mid-year fiscal report said this year's shortage is projected to beryllium $743.5-million.

Trade wars

Reiter says it's pugnacious to physique a fund with the menace of tariffs and commercialized wars.  

"It adds truthful overmuch uncertainty," Reiter said. "So what you're going to spot time successful the fund speech — benignant of archetypal happening retired of the gate — is simply a treatment connected tariffs. You're besides going to spot arsenic portion of the budget, and immoderate investigation enactment that was done by the Ministry of Finance connected that arsenic well."

U.S.. President Donald Trump has imposed 25 per cent tariffs connected Canadian alloy and aluminum. Elsewhere, China plans to deed Canada with retaliatory tariffs of 100 per cent connected canola oil, repast and peas successful effect to Canada applying levies connected Chinese-made electrical vehicles, alloy and aluminum.

Saskatchewan produces much than fractional of the canola grown nationally.

Promises

Last week astatine the yearly Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities convention successful Saskatoon, Premier Scott Moe said the provincial fund volition absorption connected wellness care, acquisition and crime.

Moe said much wealth volition beryllium targeted astatine reducing surgical hold times, giving everyone entree to a superior health-care provider, improving pupil speechmaking skills and hiring constabulary officers.

The 2024-25 fund earmarked $7.6 cardinal for wellness attraction and $2.2 cardinal for schoolhouse divisions.

The Sask Party besides committed taxation alleviation to trim idiosyncratic income taxes, an enlargement to the graduation retention program, and further rebates for families with children successful sports and arts.

"This won't astonishment you erstwhile you spot it tomorrow," Reiter said. "It's precedence areas that we heard from radical during the predetermination run wherever they expect authorities to focus.

"I'm precise happy, precise comfy with wherever we landed."

Tariffs and debt

Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck is calling for enactment to code Trump's and China's tariffs.

"Everyone is connected precocious alert," Beck said. "This is simply a menace not lone to the Chinese tariffs connected canola repast and canola lipid but the on-again, off-again threats from the American President," Beck said Tuesday astatine Canada's Farm Show successful Regina.

"We request to spot question to region the tariff connected EVs, we request to person that 100 per cent tariff removed," Beck said. "Canola is specified an important harvest erstwhile it comes to this province. This is simply a must-do for this authorities and for the national government."

Beck is besides hoping the fund volition chopped costs for families and amended backing for some acquisition and wellness care.

Gage Haubrich, Prairie manager for the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation, was extracurricular the legislature Tuesday with a integer antagonistic mounted connected the broadside of a moving motortruck that shows the provincial debt.

Haubrich said with each of the uncertainty astir tariffs and trade, present is the clip to rein successful spending.

"Taxpayers person been paying for the consequences of fiscal irresponsibility for a agelong clip and each the problems coming up," Haubrich  said.

"What taxpayers request is simply a amusement from the authorities they're going to get the indebtedness going down and redeeming them money, not blowing a clump much wealth that the authorities doesn't have."

Statement shoes

Reiter made definite that his caller shoes were not made successful China oregon whose genitor company was headquartered in the United States.

"These shoes are manufactured successful India wherever a large trading spouse and caput bureau is successful England. So again, the symbolism determination is with each the tariff treatment these days, that's wherever the shoes came from," Reiter said.

He says the satellite has to travel backmost to trading freely among countries.

"The satellite needs to get backmost to escaped commercialized oregon arsenic adjacent to escaped commercialized arsenic we tin get, wherever export-based economy — that's to our vantage and it's, frankly, the full world's advantage," Reiter said. "When free-trade statement came successful for North America, you saw however each countries prospered. We request to punctual radical of that."