The province has been busy with Memoranda of Understanding and other agreements between itself and other provinces, as inter-provincial trade is a key concern for many jurisdictions in Canada. The three recent signings include those focused on labour, critical minerals, and a Northern Trade Corridor.
For Estevan Mayor Tony Sernick, working with the surrounding provinces is good news as the southeast depends on moving exports out through those routes.
"It's good to see that provinces are starting to get together and realizing that we need to get our products, whatever they may be, to the world, and the world needs what we have, right? So it's good. Obviously, everything usually goes through B.C., but B.C. seems to be kind of a lost cause now to get anything done out there. So it's great that Manitoba and Ontario and all them are getting together and looking at different ports to get our products to the world."
Southeast Saskatchewan also sees some labour coming from across the country, working on seasonal jobs such as in the agriculture and energy sectors.
Sernick says the memorandum with Manitoba and Prince Edward Island is a no-brainer for our area.
"It's kind of crazy to think that those barriers are in place already. You think of Canada as a country, and we have all these barriers restricting flow from province to province. So it's just good to see that lots of these barriers are starting to drop. It just makes things easier for every industry to attract people or, again, get their products wherever they need to be."
Pipeline agreements are one of the main draws for the southeast, where oil and gas production is a big deal and getting those exports out into the world is crucial.
Though hearing more talk on the issue is good, Sernick says he's ready to hear about some action between the provinces.
"There are lots of pictures being taken, there are lots of smiles in those pictures, but we're at a point where we need action. This is obviously the start of it, signing the MOUs and talk is talk. But again, we need action."
"It's a product that eastern Canada needs and the world needs. Right now, basically all of our oil goes down to the USA and we all know what's happening down there. Everything has tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. So just getting those pipelines in the ground, there's lots of talk, we just need some action."
Sernick still does have a level of concern that when it comes time to get those pipelines in the ground, some of the partners who talked a big game won't step up.
"We're talking about all these MOUs, it's great and all that. But when the word pipeline does come up, politicians kind of shudder away from it. So again, hopefully this is the beginning, provinces coming together, dropping barriers, and hopefully we can just get projects going."
Sernick says that Canada is playing catch-up, with projects that should have been done 10-15 years ago hopefully getting started soon.