No end in sight for Saskatchewan’s boom: Chamber of Commerce

It was a busy 2012 for developer Pacesetter Homes.  

“We exceeded our goals,” said sales and marketing coordinator Curt Keil.  

But the company is preparing for an even busier 2013.  

“We’re expecting to grow,” explained Keil. “We’ve got about 20 to 25 (homes) under construction right now, but we’ll probably grow that to when we’ll have about 30 to 40 under construction at a time.” 

Pacesetter Homes, which recently set up shop in Regina, is not alone.  

“It has been 30 years since it’s been this busy for homebuilding, and I know construction permits broke an all time record last year,” said Keil. “I think most people are expecting this year to be just as good.” 

Sounds of construction echo throughout the province as new homes go up seemingly overnight, and it is helping to keep the economy booming.  

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“We don’t see this ending anytime soon, which is good news,” Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve McLellan said.  

Potash, said McLellan, is still at a high level despite a recent slow down. Oil is also doing well and there are more people in the work force. Essentially, he said, the boom is still going strong.  

“We don’t think there will be a bust,” McLellan said. “We think we’re in a new Saskatchewan, if you will, a period of time where the world has started to recognize the things we have, or what they need, and they’re buying them. Everything from farm machinery, to food and fuel.” 

The province’s name is synonymous with grains like wheat and barley. McLellan feels with Saskatchewan’s farming expertise gaining recognition on an international stage 2013 will bring a re-emergence of agriculture. 

“It’s kind of taken a back seat to some of the minerals, we think we’re going to start to hear and talk more about the agriculture,” he said.  

The boom has been keeping businesses on their toes, but the goal is to become more responsive to all the challenges that come with it.  

“We don’t have enough people to do all the work we have available,” McLellan explained. “This is going to be a big issue for 2013, but this is also going to be a big issue for the next decades.”