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Saskatchewan is the most attractive jurisdiction in the country, and the seventh most attractive globally.
That’s according to a survey conducted by the Fraser Institute, which polled 350 mining companies. The survey results, which were published on Tuesday, found that Finland is the most attractive part of the world for mining investment overall, though Saskatchewan has ranked in the top 10 in six of the previous seven years.
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Nevada placed third on the rankings, followed by Alaska, Wyoming, Arizona, Sweden, then Saskatchewan.
The report noted that government policies play a big factor in Saskatchewan’s highly favourable ranking.
“In terms of policy factors alone, Saskatchewan ranks in the global top three while Newfoundland & Labrador ranks sixth and Alberta ranks ninth,” the Fraser Institute said in a statement.
“However, some Canadian jurisdictions are not capitalizing on their strong mineral potential due to a lack of a solid policy environment that would attract investment. For instance, Yukon and Manitoba, despite being among the top ten most attractive jurisdictions for mineral endowment, rank 40th and 43rd respectively when considering policy factors alone.”
Elmira Aliakbari, director of the Fraser Institute’s Centre for Natural Resource Studies, said it’s important to create “a sound and predictable regulatory regime” in order to attract mining investment.
“Policymakers in every province and territory should understand that mineral deposits alone are not enough to attract investment,” Aliakbari said in a statement.
Colleen Young, Saskatchewan’s minister for energy and resources, said the survey results show the effectiveness of the province’s “strong and steady approach” when it comes to attracting investment.
“We offer some of the best incentive programs in the country for mineral development and we continue to uphold our reputation of being responsive, stable and predictable as a jurisdiction where investors can move projects forward,” Young said in a statement.
The provincial government noted that Saskatchewan set a new record high for potash production in 2024, mining nearly 24.7 million tonnes of potassium chloride. The province also hit new records for uranium production (16,700 tonnes) and sales ($2.6 billion) last year.
“Achieving the number one ranking in Canada is due to our ability to work constructively and collaboratively with government to enable policies that attract investment,” added Pam Schwann, president of the Saskatchewan Mining Association.
