Population & Demographics

As one can see from the graph below, the Conference Board of Canada forecasts that the population will continue to grow over the next five years at annual rates of between 0.5% and 1.8%.

Interprovincial Migration Fuels Growth

A good deal of Saskatchewan’s growth has come in the form of interprovincial migration. In the past six quarters, Saskatchewan has seen net positive migration from the other provinces. The ultimate result of this in-migration is over 13,000 new Saskatchewan residents in a year-and-a-half. Regina has received its share of Saskatchewan’s growth and expects to continue into the future.

Saskatchewan's Age Advantage

Saskatchewan is also somewhat at an advantage for labour force needs due to the simple demographics of its population. The chart below shows the Saskatchewan population by five-year age group. One can see that the “bump” encompassing the 15-24 age groups roughly mimics the 45-54 “bump.” This is somewhat unique in Canada as many provinces have a lower young “bump” when compared to the 45-54 age groups. This has ramifications for the labour force into the future as the Baby Boomers retire and the youth take their place. Despite having some of the same concerns on labour shortages as the rest of the country, Saskatchewan looks to have an advantage.