REGINA - With the impact of tariffs being the centre of focus for the Regina economy, Economic Development Regina (EDR) and other partners will head to Colorado in May for a leadership roundtable.
Some of these partners include the University of Regina, City of Moose Jaw, and the Regina Airport Authority (RAA). On the American side, it will include similar counterparts.
Chris Lane, CEO of EDR, explained that Colorado is a priority for the city, with the addition of the Regina-Denver flights starting in May.
During the announcement last year, the flight was expected to be a big contributor to Regina’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
While Lane wouldn’t comment on any concerns with Canadians and Americans choosing to stay in their own country for trips, he did note the economic value United Airlines sees in the city by investing in a route.
Regarding Regina’s GDP, EDR is estimating "that U.S. tariffs alone will create a $329 million hole in Regina’s GDP in 2025, with a potential loss of 730 jobs."
Some key areas for those job losses would be in manufacturing, food processing and the steel industry.
As for other jobs, Lane said it doesn’t take those into account because that can be the nature of a particular market.
According to Lane, this will slow down Regina’s GDP from 2.5 per cent to almost 0 per cent.
While job losses are a short-term effect of tariffs, the long-term impact of tariffs could be manufacturers moving from Saskatchewan to America.
From his understanding, Lane said there haven’t been any manufacturers mentioning a potential move.
As for manufacturers moving from the U.S. to Canada, Lane said there could be an advantage that this country could exploit.
But he wants to ensure these companies continue to see the value of operating out of Sask.
As part of their 2025 budget, a big focus for EDR was attracting new talent to Sask.
EDR executed a "multi-year talent attraction strategy to recruit and retain new residents and workers."
This was to help fill the over 2,000 vacant jobs the city has, which would boost the economy by half a billion dollars, as he previously noted.
With the potential for manufacturers to leave the city long-term, Lane said he isn’t worried about attracting more residents to Regina.
"We will continue to grow and continue to need to talk to talent in both professional services and trade in particular."
Although Lane hasn’t seen a difference in the number of jobs vacant since the campaign launched, he did note the campaign has reached over 3 million people and driven 10,000 visitors to EDR’s website.
Even though EDR wants to continue their relations with American counterparts, they also want to grow the amount of investors putting in money from other countries.
As of the interview, Lane was on a trade mission in Germany. Over the weekend, Premier Scott Moe also went to Germany, which he called an opportunity "to connect with new potential investors in technology, sustainability, and advanced manufacturing."
Lane himself couldn’t comment on which investors/companies are looking at Canada but noted there was lots of interest.
To further grow businesses in Sask. EDR and the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA) announced the Sask. Business Growth Program.
The program's objective is to fill a gap in Saskatchewan's "business ecosystem by providing tailored support to second-stage businesses in key industries, including technology, manufacturing, agriculture, mining, and energy."
Businesses planning to expand their operations in Regina and Saskatoon that make revenues between $1 million and $50 million are eligible for the program.
