Moe, Beck spar over growth narrative

Saskatchewan's 2023 spring legislative sitting centred around the question of growth and specifically how the provincial government is handling a larger population and higher revenues.

This was highlighted on Tuesday when Premier Scott Moe said that in order for the province to attract investment and remain affordable for residents and businesses, it must set a goal to get to a net-zero electrical grid by 2050.

Moe argued that in Saskatchewan, meeting federal targets set for 2035 is unrealistic and would lead to higher power bills and companies avoiding the province.

More broadly speaking, Moe and the Saskatchewan Party's goals for 2030 are to grow the population to 1.4 million people, create 100,000 jobs and attract $16 billion in capital investment annually.

The tent-pole piece of legislation for the government, the Saskatchewan First Act, was passed and has been described as a mechanism to protect the province from federal intrusion into provincial jurisdiction in areas of resource development and power generation.

Moe and his government argue that federal policies cause harm to the province, or will in the future.

The act has been criticized by First Nations and Métis leaders and has triggered one lawsuit.

The Saskatchewan Party and government have adopted the slogan, "Growth the Works for Everyone." You cannot miss the billboards all around the province with the premier's picture next to the phrase.

Government MLAs uttered the slogan seemingly dozens of times weekly, inside and outside the assembly, and it was the title of the 2023-24 budget, which boasted a $1-billion surplus.

Moe told reporters following question period that it was a "strong session with a strong surplus budget which has allowed us to pay off our pandemic debt and allowed us to make the necessary investments in safer and stronger communities and preserve the growth that works for everyone in communities right across Saskatchewan."

In his final answer of question period, Moe said, "We have population growth like we have not seen in over a century in this province. I keep my live population tracker on right here because it's growing that quickly, with 1,221,670 people in this province — more than have ever lived here any day previous in this great province that we represent."

Moe said the budget invested in "safer communities," the health and human resources plan to train and attract more health care workers and in the education system.

"With that unprecedented population growth comes student population growth in our schools. The minister of education is working on how we can react financially to support those students and ultimately those school divisions."

On Thursday, Moe called the economy "growing and vibrant," but not everyone shared the sentiment.