Since Scott Moe became Premier, tuition in Saskatchewan has soared by an eye-popping 32.4 per cent — students here pay the second-highest tuition fees in Canada.
According to the most recent
Statistics Canada data, tuition costs averaged $7,257 in 2018, the year Moe took office. Today, students are paying at least $9,609 annually and that figure doesn’t even include the tuition hike this year.
“Education is the cornerstone of Saskatchewan’s economic future, but the Sask. Party has chosen to saddle students with crushing debt instead of investing in their success,” said Tajinder Grewal, NDP Shadow Minister for Advanced Education. “This is our future at stake, and Scott Moe doesn’t seem to care.”
This fall, the University of Saskatchewan increased tuition by 3.8 per cent and the University of Regina by 4 per cent, citing stagnant provincial funding. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan ranks last among western provinces for retaining graduates one year after they finish post-secondary.
“For Saskatchewan to lead in innovation and economic growth, we need to keep our young people here,” Grewal said. “But how can we do that when students are being forced to take on tens of thousands of dollars in debt just to get an education? Affordable tuition should be the bare minimum, and right now we’re failing.”
Grewal said the Sask. Party’s approach is shortsighted and harmful to the province’s long-term prosperity.
“We need more nurses, teachers, engineers, and skilled tradespeople — and that means making post-secondary education accessible and affordable,” Grewal said. “Instead of investing in students, the Sask. Party has cut funding and forced families to pay the price. It’s taking us backwards at a time when Saskatchewan needs to move forward.
Student leaders say the Sask. Party’s record is hitting young people the hardest.”
“Students are making impossible choices between paying rent, buying groceries, or covering tuition,” said Logan Weatherald, a second-year student and President of the Arts & Science Students’ Union at the University of Saskatchewan.
“Every year tuition goes up, and every year more students are forced to take on debt that will take them decades to pay off. It doesn’t have to be this way—our government should be investing in us, not abandoning us.”
As part of its advocacy work on behalf of students, Saskatchewan NDP MLAs and volunteers are going door-to-door with a petition calling for Saskatchewan tuition to be lowered.