Cost of Living in Saskatoon

Saskatoon is like any other city in Canada, problems due to corrupt politicians lining their pockets is common under Conservative leadership. For example, in response to the pandemic, the prov gov offered subsidized (aka welfare) tax incentives for HOME RENOVATIONS, which specifically targets those with funds for renovations and multiple properties to renovate to increase property value. This was yet another in a long line of welfare to already rich people. Farmer landlord welfare is common throughout the year and usually doesn't get local news coverage at all.

Saskatchewan functions much like anywhere with conservative majority. If you're rich, the government helps you get richer. You're allowed to bring in dirt-poor immigrants and drive wages down for everyone else as a business owner. You retain the liberty to ruin your community through driving wages down and unsustainable business practices. If you're poor, good luck, the housing benefit is $500 and the lowest rent in the city is $800-900.

There are way too many foreigners here in Saskatoon who are willing to work for peanut wages. I'm not surprised the minimum wage here in this province is one of the lowest in Canada.

Foreigners here are keeping wages low in Saskatoon. Why hire a Canadian and pay them fair wages with benefits, when you can hire a cheap Filipino worker and pay them the bare minimum with NO benefits? The ONLY reason these foreign workers put up with slave wages is because their jobs are tied to their permanent residency in Canada. If they quit their minimum wage jobs, they are deported back to their third world countries.

Unfortunately, wages here in Saskatoon do not reflect the true cost of living.

Hello my dears. I am going to go to Saskatchewan university in six months for a phd program. My fund is about 1500 c$ per month. Do you think I can live with this money in Saskatoon city?

If a single person monthly costs: 1,122.17C$ without rent & the average rent is between $750 - $1100 for a one bedroom apartment.

What type of work is both in demand and pays enough without having to borrow/go into debt? Ideally $3000 a month starting? (As it has been suggested earning three times the price of a city's average rent before moving there.)

Still laughing at the guy who referred to Saskatoon as "the big city". There isn't even close to half a million people living there. Maybe if you come from Bumfuck, Saskatchewan then Saskatoon is a big city, but I assure you that Saskatoon is a town - just one of many across Canada that is only now catching up with the rest of the world thanks to the Internet.

Danielle, Saskatoon is a beautiful city...with some problems. A huge drug problem (meth; not limited to Saskatoon, the whole province has issues), poverty, crime (spiking because of drugs), a massive influx of immigrants (not necessarily a bad thing), an infrastructure that can’t keep up with growth, high home prices, and an iffy economy.

But... Saskatoon’s still a pretty nice place to live.

A graduate degree won’t guarantee you anything, but it might give you an advantage depending on your field.

But... Saskatoon’s still a pretty nice place to live.

The largest groups of immigrants here do tend to keep to themselves in small but ever-growing pockets in the city. This seems to be more and more common everywhere, though. Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg... So although Saskatoon should be very multicultural, and technically it is by virtue of its population, it still kind of isn’t because no one, except an enlightened few, seem to want to mix and mingle.

But... Saskatoon’s still a pretty nice place to live.

There is a component to Saskatoon’s population that is made up of xenophobic white people. They’re the ones whose comments you read below. Since Saskatoon’s inception they’ve had a privileged place as the “dominant” culture. But they are learning that the world isn’t actually mostly white, it’s 2019 not 1819, and Saskatoon isn’t the isolated landlocked whites-only backwater they thought it was. These people are loud, but this makes them easy to spot and avoid. I’m a white person and I avoid them. They’re just bloody embarrassing. They’re also a dying breed, so there’s some hope.

But... Saskatoon’s still a pretty nice place to live.

These things having been said, most people are pretty nice here. The city has some nice places, the river is beautiful, there’s live music, theatre, outdoor stuff to do. And the fact is, Saskatoon needs progressive people. If you move here, participate. Contribute. That’s the key. The people who feel the most isolated or threatened living here don’t participate or contribute to community. It can be intimidating given the things I’ve listed above. But it’s rewarding and makes you feel like you’re part of the city.

Saskatoon’s still a pretty nice place to live.