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More Saskatchewan residents are struggling to pay their bills, with new data indicating that the province is experiencing higher levels of financial stress than the national average.
Data released on Wednesday by Statistics Canada, part of its Quality of Life framework, highlights a sharp rise in the struggle with the cost of living.
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Results for the second quarter of 2025 show that 46.6 per cent of Saskatchewan residents find it difficult or very difficult for their household to meet financial needs. This is a significant increase from the second quarter of 2023, when only 30 per cent reported similar struggles.
The province’s numbers are also noticeably higher than the national mark of 39.4 per cent.
The data illustrate a shrinking middle ground. While 30.8 per cent of residents said they find it neither difficult nor easy to meet their needs, the number of people comfortable financially has dropped.
Only 22.6 per cent of respondents said it was easy or very easy to cover expenses, down from 37.4 per cent across all groups just two years ago.
When broken down by gender, women in the province are reporting higher levels of difficulty. Nearly half reported finding it difficult or very difficult to make ends meet. Meanwhile, 43.5 per cent of men reported the same level of difficulty.
Conversely, only 21.2 per cent of women and 24 per cent of men described their financial situation as easy. The data indicate a rapid deterioration in financial stability, with the number of women reporting difficulty jumping by roughly 20 per cent over the last two years.
The release of these numbers comes at a challenging time for the local economy. Labour force survey data recently showed that average weekly wages in Saskatchewan declined in December.
Furthermore, analysts are looking ahead to the release of the Consumer Price Index early next week. Inflation is expected to hold steady at around 2.2 per cent for December.
