Sask. finishes fiscal year with $182 million operating surplus: Public Accounts
Saskatchewan finished the 2023-24 fiscal year with a $182 million operating surplus, according to the Ministry of Finance.
The government initially projected a $1 billion surplus for 2023-24 but a summer drought and reduced resource revenue moved the government into deficit territory, short $250 million at mid-year. The projected deficit later grew to $482 million. Now, a significant year end turnaround with a $182 million surplus after nearly $21 billion in spending.
“I would love the one billion to be sure, but you know, we did have unexpected revenues as well as unexpected expense pressures,” Minister of Finance Donna Harpauer said on Thursday.
Compared to the third quarter update, total expenses were down $55 million and revenue increased $610 million, according to a public accounts document released on Thursday,
A deficit of $482.5 million was forecasted in the third quarter update – meaning the $182 million surplus was an improvement of $664.7 million, the ministry said.
“Our budget forecasting follows best practices from the public and private sectors, but challenging situations around the world and issues closer to home, such as weather events, led to some extraordinary fluctuations over the course of 2023-24,” Harpauer said.
“Fortunately we were able to finish the year in a surplus position due to the strength of our economy, which continues to see increased growth across a wide range of sectors.”
Higher than expected corporate tax revenue was a contributing factor.
“Cash items such as corporate income tax, and there is stronger numbers from our liquor sales, a little bit from gaming as well,” Harpauer explained.
The NDP believe the surplus leaves the government with no excuse for not providing consumer relief.
“Of course we’ve been calling for relief and I’ve of those prime examples is to suspend the provincial gas tax. Certainly that’s subverting that this government should have done a long time ago but they should be doing that [Friday] as we head into Canada Day long weekend,” NDP MLA Trent Wotherspoon said.
For this year, the government last projected a $273 million deficit but last year had forecast the unpredictability of financial forecasting.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6941344.1719400735!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
She's still busy at 105. What secrets and science are behind Canada's 'super agers'?
There is ongoing research to better understand the relationship between social connection and healthy aging, and why the brains of super agers look different compared with their peers.
Charges pending after 3-year-old Edmonton boy struck, killed by truck in marked crosswalk
Police say charges are pending after a boy was killed and his mother and sister were injured in a crash in south Edmonton on Thursday.
The new airline rivalries: Air Canada vs. Porter, WestJet vs. Flair
In a country traditionally dominated by two national airlines, a new set of aviation rivalries has emerged. Porter is increasingly moving in on Air Canada's home turf of Central Canada as well as cross-country routes, while WestJet seeks to counter the threat of Flair Airlines in a shift from the decades-old industry dynamic of sparring between the two biggest carriers.
'Lab-grown' meat maker hosts Miami tasting party as Florida ban goes into effect
As Florida's ban on "lab-grown" meat is set to go into effect next week, one manufacturer hosted a last hurrah — at least for now — with a cultivated meat-tasting party in Miami.
Some of the wealthiest Canadians in Canada, according to Forbes
If you gathered all the wealth that billionaires currently have worldwide, you would have about US$14.2 trillion, according to Forbes Magazine. But what about in Canada alone?
Summer hours are a perk small businesses can offer to workers to boost morale
Business owners have found that offering summer hours – a reduced schedule on Fridays, usually between Victoria Day and Labour Day — can be a way to boost employee morale. Workers are able to deal with summer childcare gaps, return to the office refreshed and feel like their job values them, owners say.
'7 years of regret': Raunchy leg piece wins bad tattoo competition at Edmonton Expo Centre
Friday night was a celebration of mistakes for a small group of body art enthusiasts.
Nude beach etiquette: Lose your clothes, not your manners
Most of us have felt the freedom and delight that comes with stripping down to a swimsuit on a sunny day and wading into a cool sea, the horizon twinkling in the distance.
A study identified 6 types of depression. Here’s why that matters
Scientists may be a step closer to that reality, thanks to new research that has identified six subtypes — or 'biotypes' — of major depression via brain imaging combined with machine learning.