Saskatchewan Caps Off Successful Year Internationally

Released on April 22, 2024

Province’s International Outcomes Finish Strong in Q4

Saskatchewan is reporting new successes internationally for the final quarter of the 2023-24 fiscal year. These have led to increased opportunities and new partnerships for local businesses and communities here at home. 

“Showcasing Saskatchewan’s innovation and sustainable energy, mining and agriculture products to new markets is essential to the economic growth we are seeing in the province,” Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said. “Over the past year, we have made concerted efforts to share Saskatchewan’s story on the global stage, and we are seeing the benefits of that work. We exported nearly $50 billion worth of products to 163 countries, including another record year of agri-food exports totaling over $20 billion. This success is only possible through the strong relationships we continue to build internationally."

Saskatchewan’s international office network facilitated over numerous trade and investment activities in Q4. This included supporting missions, events and webinars in countries such as Japan, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. These had over thirty Saskatchewan exporters represented and resulted in an estimated 190 trade deals with sales over $7 million.

“At COP28, world leaders affirmed the vital role that nuclear energy needs to play in meeting global net-zero carbon emission targets,” Cameco Vice-President of Marketing David Doerksen said. “Cameco joined the Saskatchewan delegation in Dubai and engaged with governments, utilities, organizations, and businesses regarding the tremendous contributions our province’s uranium industry is making in the battle against climate change, and our significant capacity to meet demand as nuclear power generation ramps up worldwide. We shared the resources, technology, and innovation that our province is providing for addressing climate change. Together, we sent a clear message that Cameco and Saskatchewan can energize a clean-air world.”

Other successes from these missions include Memorandum of Understanding signings, many between international post-secondary institutions and Saskatchewan universities to support higher education and cross-cultural knowledge sharing. This includes signings with QpiAI, the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, IPB University and the Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology. Saskatchewan’s international office network also supported eight total partnerships for innovation and research and development for the Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatchewan Polytechnic and the University of Saskatchewan.

This quarter also brought the launch of two new tools for attracting international investment, Securing the Next Decade of Growth: Saskatchewan’s Investment Attraction Strategy, and the new Saskatchewan Trade and Investment website InvestSK.ca. The strategy brings new, extended and expanded incentives for businesses who invest in the province, including the Critical Minerals Innovation Incentive, the Saskatchewan Technology Start-up Incentive, and the Critical Minerals Processing Investment Incentive, among others.

On labour recruitment efforts, the Saskatchewan UAE Office supported the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training’s recruitment mission to Dubai. The mission resulted in over 148 job offers being extended to high-qualified workers.

In 2023, Saskatchewan has seen 78 incoming commercial and diplomatic delegations, with many more on the horizon.

Saskatchewan continues to show its commitment to attracting the best global talent. Earlier this quarter, the province launched Building the Workforce for a Growing Economy: the Saskatchewan Labour Market Strategy. The strategy outlines Saskatchewan’s initiatives for bringing in and retaining a healthy job market and a diverse, skilled workforce.

All of this is on the tail end of another successful year of growth for Saskatchewan. The province saw $12.4 billion in private sector capital investment last year, up 24.6 per cent, with an expected increase of 14.4 per cent to $14.2 billion this year. Saskatchewan is expected to be first among provinces in terms of growth in this category for 2024.

For more information on opportunities in Saskatchewan, visit: InvestSK.ca.

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