Saskatchewan Small Businesses Deliver C$8.3bn Payroll

Saskatchewan’s small businesses paid more than C$8.3 billion in wages and salaries in 2025, a reminder that the sector’s importance is measured in household incomes as much as company registrations. Figures highlighted by the provincial government on 20 October put the number of small businesses at 156,850, ranking Saskatchewan second in Canada on a per-capita basis. Together, they accounted for 98.8% of the province’s businesses.

Released during Small Business Week, running from 19 to 25 October, the provincial profile groups businesses with fewer than 50 employees in this category. Those firms employed about 30% of Saskatchewan’s workforce last year. Their reach extends across agriculture, mining and manufacturing, as well as the products and services that sustain local communities. The figures underline a distinction: small firms dominate the business population, while their collective employment contribution remains substantial despite each operating with a modest workforce.

Alongside the profile, the government highlighted its permanent 1% provincial small business tax rate. That rate applies to the first C$600,000 of eligible business income earned by qualifying Canadian-controlled private corporations, rather than to every enterprise counted in the report. Both provisions predate this week’s announcement: the rate became permanent through legislation in December 2024, while the income threshold rose from C$500,000 in January 2018. Federal corporation tax applies separately, making the distinction between a provincial rate and a company’s overall tax bill important.

Trade and Export Development Minister Warren Kaeding emphasised entrepreneurs’ contribution to jobs and community prosperity, while Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce chief executive Prabha Ramaswamy highlighted their role in keeping towns and cities economically active. The announcement presents existing tax policy alongside evidence of the sector’s scale. Its clearest message is the breadth of the economic stake: decisions made by thousands of smaller employers collectively shape livelihoods across Saskatchewan, linking business performance to the incomes and services on which communities depend.