The province of Saskatchewan has many assets. In fact, it owns 40% of Canada's arable land and therefore constitutes The country's first breadbasket. She is known as The birthplace of the health insurance plan and its residents can benefit from free medical care. The system ofupbringing offers a number of benefits to Saskatoon residents. For example, the Graduate Retention Program reimburses up to 20,000 Canadian dollars in tuition fees paid by graduates residing in the province (including international students who live in the province and report their income). Housing costs are also lower than in most major cities in Canada.
The province of Saskatchewan has the same type of government as the other Canadian provinces, based on the Westminster system, with a prime minister, a monocareral parliament (the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly), and a lieutenant governor. The Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly building is located in Regina, the capital of the province.
Scott Moe of the Saskatchewan Party, is the prime minister of the province since 2 February 2018 and chairs the Executive Council. The Saskatchewan Party is a center-right political party.
Saskatchewan's economy is stable and provides businesses with the insurance they need to invest and grow their businesses. For example, theSaskatchewan Business Innovation Incentive is a tax incentive that provides eligible corporations with reduction in the corporate income tax rate (IRS) by 6% for 10 years. In addition, the rate of sales tax is one of the lowest in the country.
The province's economy is based on the exploitation of natural resources. Indeed, Saskatchewan has a variety of resources such as potash, uranium and oil. She is by the way the world's largest exporter of potash. In addition, the province is at the forefront of new technologies to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, it emits 50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions during the production process of potash than other producing countries.
The province is also leader in the sustainable agriculture sector and in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, she was one of the first to convert to no-till agriculture in the 1970s. This type of agriculture makes it possible to trap carbon in the soil and enrich it with nutrients while reducing the impact on the land. Saskatchewan thus became a leader in legume production, such as lentils and peas, which require a minimum of humidity for growth and help fix nitrogen in soils.
The wealth and diversity of the territory's resources offer numerous investment opportunities in several key sectors. In addition, the province has One of the lowest corporate income tax rates in the manufacturing and processing sectors. Capital investments thus totalled 171.7 billion Canadian dollars between 2011 and 2021, and during the year 2022, capital investments increased by 18.5%.
Saskatchewan is recognized worldwide for the quality of its crops. Located in the heart of the Canadian Prairies, the province is home to over 40% of Canada's farmland and some of the most productive land in the world. For example, 40% of global production of lentils In 2018 comes from Saskatchewan. She is also the second largest cattle-producing province in Canada And also a leader in the fields of crop science, plant proteins, agricultural equipment and clean energy. Local businesses are fuelling much of this growth, including Nutrien, the largest potash company in the world, Brandt Group of Companies, a major agricultural equipment manufacturing company and AGT Food and Ingredients, one of the world leaders in the export of lentils. International companies have also invested and opened their offices in the province, such as BHP Billiton and Cargill.
The food industry is the province's main economic sector with over 300 food and beverage processing businesses. Saskatchewan is one of Canada's largest exporters of agri-food products as well as a major food supplier to the world population. Since 2012, annual agricultural revenues have nearly doubled, from 3.5 billion Canadian dollars to about 6.8 billion dollars in 2020-21. In 2021, Saskatchewan exported $17.5 billion CAD worth of agri-food products.
Moreover, advanced technologies, in particular agricultural and life science biotechnology, constitute a dynamic hub in the province, which has a reputation for being the most dynamic agricultural bioscience research, development and commercialization hub in Canada. Saskatchewan is a leader in agricultural biotechnology. The province has global expertise in crop and livestock development, genomics, imaging, and vaccine research. Following a federal initiative, a research cluster was installed atUniversity of Saskatchewan and on the technology park ofInnovation Place from Saskatoon. It includes in particular the Canadian Synchrotron Radiation Center, the National Research Council of Canada, the Intervac video (a Level 3 containment facility for vaccine research) and the Agri-Food Innovation Center which aims to increase the value of major Canadian crops, such as canola, wheat and legumes, and also seeks to develop plant-based meat substitutes and to market new agri-food products.
Research focuses on plant imaging, food security, water supply, microbial biotechnology, and the application of plant genomic tools.. Proteins, food processing, and fractionation are other sources of innovation. Researchers are also gaining a better understanding of microbes in soil and plant roots to improve the effectiveness of fertilizers. Digital technology in agriculture is indeed transforming the decision-making process by combining data collection with artificial intelligence tools.
Saskatchewan is an energy giant, with the most diverse primary energy resource base in Canada. Opportunities abound in particular in the oil and gas industry. Thanks to loose legislation, energy companies see the province as one of the best jurisdictions in the world to pilot and commercialize new energy-related technologies. She is The second largest oil producer in the country. In 2021, the province produced 162.1 million barrels of oil. It also has oil reserves estimated at nearly 1.2 billion barrels, refining and upgrading capacity, and an extensive pipeline network. Elle is also home to an important part of the Bakken Formation, one of the largest oil areas in North America.
The province is also a leader in oil research, especially in the areas of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and horizontal well drilling. For example, the recovery plant husky, in Lloydminster, converts heavy oil from Saskatchewan and Alberta into synthetic oil and produces diesel fuel. She is Canada's third-largest natural gas producer. In 2021, the province produced 143.4 billion cubic feet. The country's gas reserves are estimated at 1.8 trillion cubic feet. Finally, Saskatchewan is The world's largest supplier of uranium. 90% of the extracted uranium is exported, the remaining 10% powering the country's nuclear reactors. Uranium from the province is also responsible for feeding about one in twenty homes in the United States.
The province's significant mineral resources, loose legislation, and investment opportunities have attracted major global mining companies to Saskatchewan. The province has two of the most sought-after minerals in the world: potash and uranium. It is the largest potash industry in the world, representing approximately a third of the world's annual production and home to nearly half of the world's known reserves. The world's largest deposits of high-grade uranium are located in northern Saskatchewan.
Gold exploration activity is also important in the province and some areas with high gold potential remain underexplored. In 2020, the mine Seabee Gold Operation produced 81,686 ounces of gold. In addition, the Fort à la Corne region has one of the largest kimberlite fields in the world (the area of some kimberlites exceeds 200 hectares). The province also produces coal, salt, kaolin, clay, and sodium and potassium sulphates and has significant deposits of copper, zinc, nickel, and cobalt. In 2021, mineral sales were 8.5 billion Canadian dollars, ranking fourth in the country. Exploration expenses were $213.7 million in the same year.
Saskatchewan has some of Canada's first and largest wheat-based ethanol plants in operation and integrated biodiesel facilities that produce bio-based materials, green chemicals, renewable plastics, natural fibers, and natural structural materials.
The province has also invested in major new developments in wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy. Hydropower is currently the main source of renewable energy in Saskatchewan, but production may vary depending on annual rainfall. In 2018, eight hydroelectric power plants produced 3,591 GWh of electricity. The territory also hasabundant wind resources and is One of the sunniest places in Canada. In 2018, 386 GWh of electricity was produced using wind power. In the same year, total renewable energy production was 3,977 GWh, representing 16.8% of total production in the province.
With 40% of Canada's arable land, Saskatchewan produces almost half of Canada's wheat (45.7% with 14.7 million tons produced). The province has 34,253 farms, including 21,505 grain and pulse farms. The top three agricultural exports are plant-based products, canola, wheat, and lentils. The province is Canada's first female canola producer with 53.7% of total national production in 2018 with 10.9 million tons produced. It also provided more than 90% of the total national lentil production in 2018 with 1.9 million tons.
Saskatchewan has a well-established forest industry with cutting-edge technology. More than half of the province's territory is forested, which represents 34 million hectares. Saskatchewan's commercial forest area includes nearly 12 million hectares, of which 5.3 million hectares are classified as productive forest land available for commercial wood harvesting. Forestry is the largest industry in northern Saskatchewan.. It generates more than $1 billion in forest product sales annually and supports nearly 8,000 direct and indirect jobs. There are seven major forest product manufacturing facilities across the province that produce lumber, pulp, and oriented strand board, and over 210 small forest businesses that produce a wide variety of forest products.
Located in the center of North America, Saskatchewan offers easy access to markets in Canada and around the world. To support its export market, the province has developed an extensive rail and road network. The territory has The largest road network in Canada and has 2,400 trucking companies, two international airports and several rail routes.
Saskatchewan is the fifth Canadian province exporting the most to France. Exports to the country represented 0.4% of total exports in 2018. They mainly consist of agricultural and fishery products (81%), non-metallic ores and minerals (7%), and energy products (7%). Exports from Saskatchewan totalled 37.2 billion Canadian dollars in 2021.
THECanada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is a revised version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed on January 1, 1994, which aims to facilitate trade between the United States, Mexico and Canada. In addition to being the most ambitious trade agreement in history, NAFTA also created The largest free trade area in the world and brought together two rich developed countries and one less developed State. The agreement thus made it possible to promote the development of international trade by removing tariff and non-tariff customs barriers and national regulations that could restrict the importation of goods and services. In 2017, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened to renegotiate the agreement or even cancel it. After numerous renegotiations, NAFTA was replaced by CUSMA on 1Er July 2020. This new agreement facilitates the temporary entry of businessmen and women who have American, Mexican or Canadian citizenship and who are engaged in trade in goods or services or in investment activities. The agreement also removes the need for all businessmen and women subject to it to obtain a labour market impact assessment. Finally, in the case of professionals and intra-company transferees, CUSMA speeds up the application process because the application can be submitted at the country's point of entry.
The European Union (EU) is Canada's second largest trading partner. THEComprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union offers Canadian businesses a preferential access to the EU market and excellent growth opportunities in this region. September 21, 2022 marks the fifth anniversary of the provisional application of CETA. The agreement will come into full force when all EU member states have completed the ratification process. Until then, the provisional application of CETA continues and remains accessible to Canadian and European businesses. Since its creation, CETA has allowed a significant increase in bilateral trade and offered a particularly favourable environment for entrepreneurs on both sides of the Atlantic.