for the Health Human Resources Action Plan to recruit, train, retain and incentivize more health care professionals
$42 million
increase to deliver improved access to team-based primary and preventive care
$15 million
to fund a plan to reduce surgical waiting lists by performing 450,000 surgeries over the next four years
$279 million
to deliver world-class cancer care and treatments
500
new addictions treatment spaces - doubling addictions treatment capacity in the public health system
$657 million
for the highest-ever capital investment in health care
Delivering better patient access and safer, more responsive care for Saskatchewan residents
The 2025-26 Budget delivers on key health care commitments, including better access to acute and emergency care, team-based primary care and continuing care services. This year’s budget also supports progress on the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan; accelerates health care workforce hiring; and continues building on future infrastructure projects, including new hospitals, long-term care homes and additional urgent care centres.
The 2025-26 Budget delivers a record budget of $8.1 billion for the Ministry of Health, an increase of $485 million, or 6.4 per cent, over the previous year. The Saskatchewan Health Authority will receive a $261 million increase, or 5.6 per cent, for a total record budget of $4.9 billion.
This year’s budget includes an increased investment of $88 million to provide better access to acute health care services for safer, more responsive patient care.
2025-26 Budget highlights:
$15 million increase to reduce surgical wait times as part of an ambitious plan to perform 450,000 procedures over four years. This investment will introduce an innovative robot-assisted surgery program at Regina’s Pasqua Hospital and enhancements to other services.
$30 million investment to address inpatient capacity pressures by optimizing and realigning services at Saskatoon City Hospital to open more than 100 acute medicine and specialized beds, as well as increase overall capacity in Saskatoon.
Supporting multi-year initiatives to fund approximately 170 paramedic positions created within 58 rural communities since 2022-23.
Enhancing and expanding pediatric care and programs, including specialist recruitment in the areas of endocrinology, respirology, rheumatology and palliative care. The budget also supports additional multidisciplinary staff and physicians in pediatric gastroenterology, allergy and immunology, and cardiology programs, as well as enhancements to physician staffing at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Prince Albert.
Accommodating higher volumes of specialized medical imaging services, including CT, MRI and PET/CT services, to help reduce waiting lists.
Completing and staffing the new Breast Health Centre in Regina.
Enhancing kidney health programs and dialysis services by adding 30 full-time positions to meet patient demand closer to home in Meadow Lake, North Battleford, Fort Qu’Appelle, Tisdale, Moose Jaw, Regina and Saskatoon.
Expanding HealthLine 811’s Virtual ER Physician Program to a minimum of 25 small-to-medium rural emergency department locations that have experienced ER service disruptions due to physician availability.
The 2025-26 Budget delivers better and more timely patient access to team-based primary care settings and preventative care initiatives. This includes investments in programs that will connect all residents to a primary health care provider.
2025-26 Budget highlights:
Enhancing access to high quality primary care services through five new Patient Medical Home sites. Building on a successful pilot in Swift Current, the program allows clinics to care for additional patients due to the extra capacity the team creates, with each provider working to their full scope.
Increasing support for cancer care by:
Supporting the transition to human papillomavirus (HPV) self-screening for cervical cancer;
Progressing on a provincial lung cancer screening program;
Lowering breast cancer screening eligibility to age 43; and
Adding a second mobile mammography bus to increase capacity for women in rural and northern Saskatchewan.
Adding 27 new nurse practitioners to improve access to primary care services in rural, regional and remote communities.
Enhancing immunizations programs, including HPV immunization for males, shingles vaccinations for adult transplant patients and a single-dose respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) antibody for high-risk infants.
Expanding the Glucose Monitoring Program by providing 100 per cent coverage of Continuous and Flash Glucose Monitoring Systems for young adults aged 18 to 25 and seniors aged 65 and over. This investment will deliver benefits to nearly 10,000 Saskatchewan patients with diabetes by improving their quality of life and easing their financial burden.
The 2025-26 Budget ensures Saskatchewan residents receive strengthened continuing care support to remain at home and within their communities for as long as possible.
2025-26 Budget highlights:
A $7 million increase will fund care for all ages – from children with complex medical needs to seniors – to support individuals of all ages and patients in the most appropriate community setting.
Additional programming and resources will improve coordination of home care services, long-term care enhancements and other commitments.
Investing in the operations and staffing of 115 established long-term care and convalescent beds to support alternate level of care services. The 50 long-term care beds and 65 convalescent beds in Saskatoon will assist with patient flow in the health care system.
The 2025-26 Budget delivers a record investment of $624 million, including a targeted increase of $20 million, to enhance access to mental health and addictions services in Saskatchewan. Overall, mental health and addictions are receiving 7.7 per cent of the overall health budget. This includes continued progress on the multi-year Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan that will make services more accessible to patients, provide better coordination of care, get people the treatment they need in a timely manner and transition to a recovery-oriented system of care.
2025-26 Budget highlights:
Expanding access to mental health and addictions services and care by delivering on the commitment to add 500 addictions treatment spaces across the province, doubling addictions treatment capacity in the public health system;
Increasing access to addictions medicine across the province by implementing a new Virtual Access to Addictions Medicine Program and adding supports for the existing Opioid Agonist Therapy Program;
Supporting the development of a central intake and navigation system that patients can contact directly to self-refer for treatment;
Facilitating the transition to a recovery-oriented system of care model, which provides an improved focus on treatment and recovery; and
Increasing funding for the Bridgepoint Centre for Eating Disorder Recovery.
The 2025-26 Budget further delivers on commitments to accelerate the hiring and growth of health care professionals with a $156 million investment for the Health Human Resources Action Plan (HHR Action Plan). Since the launch of the HHR Action Plan in September 2022, more than $460 million has been invested in initiatives guided by the plan’s four pillars to accelerate the hiring and growth of health care professionals in Saskatchewan.
2025-26 Budget highlights:
Adding 10 more physician training seats for family medicine, anesthesia, plastic surgery and other specialties – for a total of 150 provincial seats – as well as more full-time academic physician positions and expanding skills programs to regional sites;
Supports for 65 enhanced permanent full-time nursing positions in 30 rural and northern locations across the province – building on 250 positions that were hired over the past few years – to improve nursing stability and reduce the reliance on contract nurses;
Investments to support the province’s efforts to recruit and retain doctors, including funding for negotiated Saskatchewan Medical Association fee increases, increased utilization of services and additional physicians; and
Supporting incentives for recruitment of specialist physicians in areas of high demand.
The 2025-26 Budget delivers a record capital investment of $657 million, a $140 million increase over last year, for multiple infrastructure projects, such as new hospitals and long-term care facilities.
Some of the projects include:
Construction of Prince Albert Victoria Hospital;
Construction of the Regina specialized long-term care facility;
Construction of the Saskatoon Urgent Care Centre;
Construction of the La Ronge Long-Term Care facility;
Construction of the Weyburn General Hospital; and
Construction of the Grenfell Long-Term Care facility.
Related resources:
For more information on how the 2025-26 Budget is delivering health care infrastructure, please visit the infrastructure page of this website.
$156 million
$42 million
$15 million
$279 million
500
$657 million
Delivering better patient access and safer, more responsive care for Saskatchewan residents