From July 1, 2000 to July 1, 2001, Saskatchewan lost 6,209 people, which the opposition Saskatchewan Party says is the highest loss of any province last year.
Saskatchewan Party MLA Ken Krawetz said disappearing citizens are proof of the NDP government’s failure. On Oct. 2 his party planned to outline how it would increase the population by creating a different economic climate through tax cuts, support for new investors and promises of a hands-off crown investment sector.
However, agriculture might be more of a factor than politics in retaining people. One of Saskatchewan’s biggest years of population loss was July 1, 1989 to July 1, 1990, when 19,928 more people left than arrived.
That followed on the heels of a prolonged drought and came during the Progressive Conservative government of Grant Devine.
