Released on April 27, 2026
The Government of Saskatchewan is investing in the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol (SHP) through the 2026-27 provincial budget to enhance the safety and security of provincial highways and infrastructure.
The SHP's budget is increasing from $7.8 million in 2025-26 to $8.5 million in 2026-27, representing a $713,000 year-over-year increase. The increased funding will expand SHP's operational capacity, enabling them to hire five additional traffic officers. This investment supports a safer, stronger and more secure provincial highway network.
"Keeping Saskatchewan strong, safe and secure means ensuring we have the right people and the right tools to deter unsafe driving and criminal activity on our highways," Community Safety Minister Michael Weger said. "This investment strengthens enforcement and supports the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol in protecting Saskatchewan families, communities and roadways."
This increased investment will strengthen SHP's efforts to disrupt organized crime, prevent the trafficking of illicit substances, recover lost tax revenue and enhance community safety by conducting more commercial vehicle inspections and patrols.
Enforcing commercial vehicle safety is one of the core pillars of the SHP mandate. In 2025-26, approximately 30 per cent of commercial vehicles operate on primary highways, with enforcement activity reaching up to 50 per cent in certain areas of the province.
"This investment gives our officers the resources they need to do what they do best, protect Saskatchewan," Superintendent of the SHP Greg Park said. "With more enforcement capacity on our highways, we can ensure unsafe vehicles are removed from the road, respond faster to calls for assistance and disrupt criminal activity that tries to move through our province."
In 2017, government formed the provincial Protection Response Team (PRT), enabling the RCMP to call upon members of the SHP, conservation officers and now the Saskatchewan Marshals Service to support emergency calls for service in Saskatchewan. PRT members support the RCMP in addressing drug trafficking, serious collisions, property crimes in progress and other serious situations. This year's investment allows SHP to respond faster to PRT service calls and contribute more effectively to joint operations and targeted enforcement initiatives in the province.
This funding will also enhance SHP's ability to intercept contraband tobacco shipments. Since 2022, SHP has seized more than 78.3 million illicit cigarettes, much of it transported through commercial trucking corridors.
In 2025-26, Saskatchewan Highway Patrol delivered strong results, reflecting its commitment to protecting Saskatchewan. SHP officers:
- seized nearly 30 million unstamped illicit cigarettes, representing an estimated street value of $15 million and a tax loss of $8.7 million;
- completed over 8,000 commercial vehicle inspections, with just under 30 per cent resulting in vehicles being taken out of service due to mechanical defects; and
- issued more than 4,000 tickets for commercial vehicle violations.
As part of the Government of Saskatchewan's Growth Plan and its 30 goals for 2030, the province is working toward a population of 1.4 million people. That growth will result in more vehicles, commercial traffic and activity on our highways. This investment strengthens SHP's capacity to keep pace with those demands and continue protecting Saskatchewan.
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Media Desk
Community Safety
Regina
Phone: 639-571-6179
Email: mediaCS@gov.sk.ca