'We got your back': Sask. NDP promises $40K start-up loans to budding businesses

The Saskatchewan NDP is keeping up the trend of election promises prior to the dropping of the writ. Monday saw the party pledging to create a start-up business loan program if they form government in the fall.

Leader Carla Beck said the program would provide start-up loans of up to $40,000 for entrepreneurs looking to start a business with up to 10 staff.

The loans would be repayable over five years, with 25 per cent eligible for forgiveness.

Speaking to reporters following the announcement, Beck said she feels business confidence in the province is at an all time low. She called on those with business ideas to step out in confidence.

“We want to signal to them that this is the time, we’ve got your back. We want to reverse that net job loss, the net loss of small businesses in this province,” Beck told reporters on Monday.

“We want to turn around, revitalize our communities, revitalize the economy, and our main streets right across the province.”

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

Small businesses, classified as businesses with less than 50 employees, account for 98.9 per cent of Saskatchewan’s 145,000 enterprises.

In response, the provincial government argued that the election campaign has not even begun and the opposition has already racked up more than $3 billion in campaign promises with “no plan on how to pay for it.”

In stark contrast to the NDP’s announcement, the provincial government says many of its targets have been surpassed in its 10-year growth plan.

Speaking at Dutch Industries in Pilot Butte, Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said Saskatchewan’s population has reached 1.23 million residents and will reach 1.4 million by 2030.

He claimed provincial exports have already reached 10-year targets.

“What we have done here is updated the growth plan, we set the objectives in that growth plan document, a number of years ago and really we’ve been remarkably successful,” he told reporters.

“It’s a testament to our job creators, our companies here in Saskatchewan who have made remarkable progress, increasing our exports to $50 billion a year.”

In 2023, the value of Saskatchewan exports reached $49.3 billion surpassing the province’s goal of $46 billion by 2030, Harrison said.

According to Statistics Canada, Saskatchewan’s real GDP in 2023 was $77.9 billion — up from $75.9 billion in 2019.

The provincial government has said it may revise some of its growth goals to a higher level to reflect the early successes.