Saskatoonruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Mining, potash & uranium
Nutrien, Cameco, BHP (Jansen), Mosaic, K+S Potash Canada, Hatch, Wood, engineering and supply firms across the city
Nutrien is the world's largest potash producer and is headquartered in Saskatoon; Cameco, one of the largest uranium producers, is too. BHP's Jansen mine east of the city is among the biggest mining developments anywhere and has reshaped the regional labour market. This is the sector that sets the province's fiscal weather — and it is cyclical, so judge an offer against the commodity cycle rather than against last year.
Health care
Saskatchewan Health Authority, Royal University Hospital, Jim Pattison Children's Hospital, St. Paul's Hospital, Saskatoon City Hospital
Saskatchewan runs a single province-wide health authority rather than regional boards, and it is the largest employer in the city. Royal University Hospital is the province's main teaching hospital and the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital, opened in 2019, is Saskatchewan's only dedicated paediatric hospital — so this city is where the whole province is referred. Health care is one of the SINP's priority sectors, which matters for anyone immigrating.
University, research & science
University of Saskatchewan, Canadian Light Source, VIDO, Global Institute for Food Security, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
The University of Saskatchewan hosts the Canadian Light Source — the country's only synchrotron — and VIDO, one of the few facilities in Canada able to work at the highest containment level. Together with the Global Institute for Food Security, the campus makes Saskatoon a genuinely serious research city rather than merely a university town, and it is a large and stable employer.
Agriculture & agri-food
Federated Co-operatives Limited, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Cargill, Richardson, AGT Foods, Ag-West Bio, crop research and seed companies
Saskatchewan grows a very large share of the world's lentils, peas, canola and durum, and Saskatoon is where the science, the finance and the head offices sit rather than the farms. Federated Co-operatives, the wholesaler behind the Co-op retail system across western Canada, is headquartered here. Agriculture is another SINP priority sector.
Public sector & education
Government of Saskatchewan, City of Saskatoon, Saskatoon Public Schools, Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools, SaskTel, SaskPower, SaskEnergy, SGI
Between the provincial government, the city, two school divisions and the Crown corporations, the public sector is a very large share of Saskatoon's stable employment. The Crowns in particular offer the kind of engineering, IT and operations work that in most provinces sits inside private utilities and telecoms.
Technology & professional services
Vendasta, 7shifts, Coconut Software, SaskTel, Innovation Place research park, engineering and accounting firms
A small but real software cluster, much of it grown out of the university and clustered at Innovation Place on campus — Vendasta and 7shifts are the best-known names. Expect a market where the community is tight-knit and salaries are lower than Toronto's but so, by a very long way, is the rent. Technology is on the SINP's priority list.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.