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The Saskatchewan government is investing $156.1 million in the 2025-26 budget to expand its Health Human Resources (HHR) Action Plan, aiming to strengthen the province’s health care system through recruitment, training, incentives, and retention strategies.
Since the HHR Action Plan launched in September 2022, more than $460 million has been invested to address staffing shortages and enhance patient care. The latest funding will continue to build on past efforts, with $88.6 million allocated to recruitment initiatives alone, including international physician and health care worker recruitment, the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA) program, and the hiring of physician assistants and clinical assistants.
“Continued investment into our ambitious HHR Action Plan ensures Saskatchewan remains an attractive place for health care professionals to live, work, and build a career,” Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. “We are making steady progress to recruit, train, incentivize, and retain more health professionals, strengthening health care teams and improving patient care across the province.”
Since the plan’s inception, 488 physicians, including 38 from outside Canada, have established practices in Saskatchewan, while nearly 1,880 nursing graduates and more than 400 internationally trained health care professionals have joined the workforce.
Training and Incentives
The province is also prioritizing health care education and training, with $81.3 million set aside for operating, programming, and capital funding. This includes $35.3 million to expand training seats in nursing, medical radiologic technology, and other critical programs. An additional $17.1 million will fund expanded medical residency seats at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine.
A total of $13 million is earmarked for incentive programs such as the Rural and Remote Recruitment Incentive, which has helped fill more than 400 hard-to-recruit positions in over 50 communities. A new $1 million investment will go toward recruiting specialists in high-demand fields, including anesthesia, psychiatry, emergency medicine, and pediatric subspecialties.
“The incentive program has demonstrated real progress in attracting in-demand health care workers to our warm and welcoming communities,” Rural and Remote Health Minister Lori Carr said. “Ongoing investments will continue bringing specialists, physicians, and nurses to improve patient access across the province.”
Retention Efforts
With retention a key focus, the government is investing $44.7 million in retention strategies, including $33.8 million to fund 250 new and enhanced permanent full-time positions in rural and northern areas. Another $4.9 million will create 65 registered nurse positions to stabilize staffing in 30 communities.
The province has also disbursed over $2.5 million in bursaries to support students entering health care professions, with additional funding planned for 2025-26 to increase Final Clinical Placement bursaries to 300 recipients.
More details on the 2025-26 budget and the HHR Action Plan can be found at saskatchewan.ca/budget.