REGINA – A report from the Conference Board of Canada suggests Saskatchewan will face some headwinds in 2014 because the potash and mining industries will slow down.
The board says the province saw strong real GDP growth of four per cent year this year, but that’s expected to moderate to 2.3 per cent next year.
But the report also says that the Saskatchewan economy in general remains robust.
It says labour markets are essentially at full employment, and the government and businesses are looking at ways to attract more skilled workers.
Premier Brad Wall says the province has had steady growth for the last several years and that’s more sustainable than growth in the four or five per cent range.
Wall says challenges such as housing, infrastructure and education can be more difficult when growth is too high.
“So to be able to say we’re going to have strong, steady growth — and by the way the most important part of that is job creation … that’s positive, especially building on where we’re at right now,” the premier said in an interview Monday.
