The provincial government released a snapshot of what the finances look like at the end of the first quarter, and the deficit is up compared to what was originally forecast in the budget. 

The increase of $126.5 million is being attributed primarily to supports provided for the agriculture sector, which is currently dealing with a number of issues related to the drought. As a result, at the end of the first quarter, the deficit is projected at $2.74 billion. 

"Recent commitments to help our farmers through the emerging drought has affected the province's fiscal situation," Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Donna Harpauer said. "However, higher oil and potash prices and increased federal transfers have helped to combat the increase in the projected deficit." 

The increases in revenue are coming from higher than anticipated oil and potash prices, as well as over $400 million in transfers from the federal government. The increase in revenue is roughly $757 million. The increases in expenses, however, are up by nearly $884 million. This included approximately $707 million for the agriculture sector, including a crop insurance expense of about $588 million.  

In a release issued by the provincial government, it pointed to the GDP expected to grow by roughly 5.6 percent this year, and another 3.8 percent next year. The forecast growth, and the province having the lowest net debt to GDP ratio amongst the provinces, has the finance minister pointing to many positives in the provincial economy. 

"A number of our other key economic indicators have also shown improvement since budget, and Saskatchewan continues to have the second-highest overall credit rating among Canadian provinces," Harpauer said. "We are pleased that the major rating agencies continue to have confidence in our government's fiscal and budgetary approach as we respond to the significant challenges posed by drought and by the global COVID-19 pandemic." 

Some of the indicators include a growth in employment as the province recovers from the economic impacts of COVID-19 

For the opposition NDP, however, they think the Saskatchewan Party government could be doing a better job of handling the finances. 

“They just can’t be trusted with our finances,” said Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon. “Again, bringing in dollars from the federal government and seeming to sit on those dollars again as opposed to deploying those to make a difference in peoples’ lives.”