Saskatchewan Tech Sector Sees 108.6 Per Cent Employment Growth, Projected to Surpass 2030 Growth Plan Target

Released on September 10, 2024

The province's technology sector is on track to meet and exceed Saskatchewan's Growth Plan goal of tripling the tech sector by 2030, according to a newly published report commissioned by Innovation Saskatchewan.

According to the report, produced by Derek Murray Consulting and Associates, Saskatchewan’s tech sector has seen significant growth as well as consistent expansion, experiencing a 108.6 per cent increase in employment growth rate since 2019.

Notably, the report shows Saskatchewan’s tech sector had the largest increase in employment growth rate out of all Prairie provinces, outpacing both Alberta and Manitoba over the same period at 21.3 per cent and 29.65 per cent, respectively. 

The report also shows that the tech sector accounted for 10 per cent of all job creation in the province from 2016-2023. On average the tech sector added 715 new jobs per year since 2016, and is on track to exceed the target of adding 7,893 jobs by 2030.

“The report highlights how Saskatchewan has developed a business-friendly tech ecosystem that is accelerating new technologies, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and creating new employment opportunities,” Minister Responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan Jeremy Harrison said. “This substantial growth in the province’s tech sector is a direct result of government and industry working collaboratively to support innovative technologies. We will continue to support this emerging sector bringing us closer to our 2030 growth plan target and further strengthening our economy.”

Since 2017, programs such as the Saskatchewan Technology Startup Incentive (STSI) and the Agtech Growth Fund (AGF) along with investments in ecosystem development projects, such as Co.Labs, Saskatchewan’s first technology incubator, and Cultivator’s AGTECH ACCLELERATOR program, have helped reduce technical risk and incentivize local investments in Saskatchewan companies.

"Saskatchewan's tech sector continues to see high long-term growth in employment and revenue, even when other jurisdictions have been challenged," SaskTech industry association President Aaron Genest said. "We can point to continuing government and post-secondary investments in education, applied research, immigration and startup supports as key reasons for this success."

Additionally, the report shows that 14 companies have been added since 2019—five of which have 100 or more employees—for a total of 347 tech companies in 2023.

This expansion suggests a healthy tech sector where smaller companies are gradually developing and increasing their workforce in the province.

For example, Siemens in Saskatoon, formerly known as Solido Design Automation before its acquisition by multinational company Siemens in 2017, began as a two-person startup in a 200-square-foot office at Innovation Place research and tech park in Saskatoon in 2005. Since 2017, the company has been growing rapidly each year and expanded into a three-storey office at the Saskatoon park with the expectation to continue this pace of growth over the coming years. The company has attributed its growth and success to a combination of unique Saskatchewan advantages, including the flexible accommodation of the park where Solido and now Siemens have consistently remained.

“Siemens in Saskatoon has now become a global Centre of Excellence for our electronic chip design software research, development and customer applications,” Siemens Vice President and General Manager Amit Gupta said. “Local investment, universities and research parks together enabled our significant growth from startup to Saskatchewan’s largest technology company.”

Read the full report on the Innovation Saskatchewan website at https://innovationsask.ca/about-us/publications.

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