REGINA, Sask. — The business community will be watching the activities of the Saskatchewan legislature closely as it gets its 2026-27 legislative session underway.
The government delivered its Speech from the Throne on Tuesday, outlining its legislative agenda for the new session. That address saw Premier Scott Moe lean heavily into the now-familiar theme of a “strong, steady Saskatchewan,” portraying Saskatchewan as a reliable place for investment during turbulent times elsewhere.
In particular, Moe pointed to the government’s continued efforts to “make life more affordable in Saskatchewan.” He also pointed to similar measures being adopted by the B.C. Conservatives, who won the recent provincial election.
“In the recent B.C. election, just this past weekend, we saw Premier-elect Lorne Doerkson, who ran and won on a promise to make life more affordable for British Columbia families. He did this by committing to raising the basic personal income tax exemption and the tax-free threshold for families in B.C.
“Much like we did in our last provincial election. In fact, today a Saskatchewan family of four now pays no provincial income tax on their first $65,000 of income. That is the highest income tax-free threshold in our nation.”
Moe added that during this session and in the spring budget, “we will continue to make life more affordable by keeping our promises to raise that threshold yet again.”
“We understand that everyone in Saskatchewan and for that matter across the nation of Canada is facing cost-of-living pressures. But Saskatchewan remains the most affordable place to live in Canada. And we intend to keep it that way. Growing our economy, attracting new investment and creating jobs and opportunity for us and that next generation.”
One economic item in the throne speech that got reporters’ attention was a pledge to bring in The Protection of Economic Infrastructure Act, aimed at ensuring critical infrastructure and transport routes cannot be disrupted by occupation or illegal activities.
Moe said this would not specifically be about “labour action or any action by that.” Rather, he said, it is more concerned with what might be obstructed: a “road, a rail line, which is economic infrastructure, ensuring that our economy can continue to operate here in the province.”
But Moe also pointed to a “significant amount of community infrastructure as well,” such as hospitals or schools.
“So it's titled economic infrastructure, but it's not solely economic infrastructure. It's economic infrastructure as well as, I would say, some of the social infrastructure that is so very necessary to be accessible in our communities, like a hospital and a school.”
Moe pointed to “numerous occasions” when rail lines or roads have been blocked for various reasons. What the government is doing, he said, is “enhancing the current legislation that we have to be responsive. And part of our broader effort and initiative to keep our communities safe and to keep our economy and communities operating is to strengthen the tools that law enforcement have, to strengthen the tools that they have so that they can do their work effectively in keeping families and communities operating and safe, but also to do it as streamlined as possible.”
As for what would be considered “critical infrastructure” under the bill, Moe was asked whether that would include data centres. He would not get into specifics, saying they will “get into the details of what is determined critical infrastructure as well as we get into passing the bill, introducing the bill first of all, passing the bill and then ultimately into the regulations of what may or may not be included.”
But when pressed about whether he saw the AI data centre as critical infrastructure, Moe responded, “I think as we look ahead, yeah, it is.
“I mean, when you look at our data sovereignty needs, the fact that we have a data centre, a uranium mine, a potash mine, any agricultural operation in this province or energy-producing infrastructure in this province or a hospital or a school, those are all critical to not only our economy but how our communities operate.”
Moe added that the conversation around data sovereignty and “the opportunity that we have to have a Canadian company invest in the province of Saskatchewan, in our nation of Canada” are significant because they would allow data to be stored under Canadian law by a Canadian company.
Moe said this is important because “today, whether it be on social media or any online presence you have, we should just all think about for a moment where that may be being stored today, where our economic and health data is being stored today. It is an important step forward for us to have a conversation around data sovereignty and storing that data in Saskatchewan and in Canada.”
But Moe acknowledged that around any project, whether it be “the data centre, any mine site, any energy investment, any ag value-added investment, of which we have many in this province, over $100 billion in total, there are questions. And there are also good, solid answers to those questions as well.”
Chamber voices approval of throne speech
The throne speech received a positive response from the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce. In a statement, the chamber said it welcomed the “economic direction set out in today’s Speech from the Throne, particularly its focus on major project investment, export market diversification, and nation-building infrastructure.”
“Despite global uncertainty, Saskatchewan has what the world needs, and today’s Throne Speech shows a government focused on getting it to market,” said chamber CEO Prabha Ramaswamy in a news release.
“Record investment and growing exports demonstrate real momentum. We look forward to working with the province to build on these gains so businesses across Saskatchewan can compete and grow.”
In particular, the chamber pointed to the speech's reference to “investment momentum,” with more than 60 major projects valued at over $100 billion.
“These include the Bell AI Fabric data centre outside Regina, the largest private capital investment in Canadian history.”
The chamber also pointed to Saskatchewan’s GDP reaching a record high of over $85 billion in 2025 and said it supports the government’s commitment to continuing to work with exporters to expand markets.
It also welcomed support for an east-west pipeline and interprovincial memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on a national power grid, as well as nuclear-inclusive electricity planning with Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
The chamber also pointed to new uranium mine approvals, potash export capacity through Canpotex’s Neptune Terminal expansion and plans to more than double copper and zinc production at McIlvenna Bay.
