Saskatoon Minute: Issue 93

Saskatoon Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Saskatoon politics

📅 This Week In Saskatoon: 📅

• Happy New Year! As 2026 gets underway, Common Sense Saskatoon is ready to make this the year that common sense takes center stage in our city. Your support and engagement make it possible for us to push for smarter decisions, lower taxes, and greater accountability at City Hall. This year, we’ll continue speaking up for practical solutions that benefit all residents and ensure our city’s leaders are focused on the priorities that matter most. Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, and successful year ahead!
  
  
• Homelessness, addiction, mental health challenges, and food insecurity remain pressing issues facing Saskatoon as the city heads into 2026, alongside a 6.7% property tax increase. A recent Point-In-Time Count found roughly 1,900 people experiencing homelessness, an increase of about 400 year-over-year, with rising housing costs cited as a key driver alongside addiction and untreated mental illness. Emergency shelters and outreach services continue to operate near capacity, while food banks and meal programs report sustained growth in demand. Public safety pressures have also intensified, with increased police and fire responses linked to encampments, overdoses, and property crime, including a rise in encampment fires. The City acknowledges these challenges are interconnected and require coordinated responses across municipal, provincial, and federal governments. While pilot programs and partnerships made incremental progress in 2025, need continues to outpace available resources.
  
  
• Saskatoon residents will see a wide range of City fees increase in the coming year, alongside a 6.7% property tax hike. City Council chose to raise several user fees to help reduce what was initially projected as a near-10% property tax increase. Hgher costs will apply to services such as cemetery plots, pet licences, landfill use, zoo admission, recreation programs, and rides at Nutrien Playland. Transit users will also see the first bus fare increase in nearly a decade, effective July 1st. Water rates are set to rise by just over 5%, and monthly garbage collection fees for larger carts will increase, though recycling and green cart rates remain unchanged. The City says many of these adjustments reflect cost recovery for services provided. While some increases take effect immediately, others will roll out over the coming months as part of Saskatoon’s 2026 budget implementation.
  
  
• Saskatoon faces growing challenges in maintaining its aging outdoor pools, many of which were built in the 1950s and 1960s. Mayfair Pool, which opened in 1959, has been saved twice from closure through public pressure and underwent a $4.8-million renovation in 2012. George Ward Pool, now 60 years old, is approaching a similar budget dilemma, with replacement costs expected within five years but no funding plan in place. Saskatoon’s population has nearly tripled since these pools were built, yet no new outdoor pools have been added, leaving just four to serve 67 neighbourhoods. Building new pools today can cost $20 million or more, and short summer seasons and rising maintenance costs make them difficult to justify financially. Some cities have turned to cheaper alternatives like spray pads and paddling pools, but outdoor pools remain valued for community and nostalgic reasons. The City must soon decide whether to close George Ward Pool or invest millions to keep it operational.
  
  
• Mayor Cynthia Block says 2026 could bring momentum on long-term housing development, while homelessness remains a central focus of her first term. Block expects concept plans next year for the University of Saskatchewan endowment lands - 1,000 acres within five kilometres of downtown - seen as a major infill opportunity under the university’s long-range Vision 2057 plan. At the same time, Block defended the City’s growing role in addressing homelessness and addiction, arguing that reliance on emergency services is costly and ineffective without stable housing. City Council has approved new warming centres and supportive housing sites, including in Riversdale, which has been a source of concern for local businesses. Block said progress will require closer partnerships with the community. She also acknowledged public frustration with Saskatoon’s 6.7% property tax increase, noting rising costs affect both households and City services. Block said her priority is balancing affordability, safety, and long-term growth as the city moves forward.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

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