Saskatoon’s Police Chief, Cam McBride, remains committed to seeking cost efficiencies within the police budget. Despite this, he has proposed a 9.3% increase for next year’s budget, followed by a 5.4% increase in 2027. These figures are slightly lower than the initial estimates provided by the police in June, which projected increases of 10.4% and 6.4%, respectively.
During a recent meeting of the board of police commissioners, Mayor Cynthia Block commended McBride for his efforts to mitigate budget escalation. McBride affirmed that the police force is actively exploring additional cost-saving measures leading up to the city council’s budget deliberations scheduled for late November.
The police board has endorsed McBride’s proposed budget, which, if approved by the council, would facilitate the recruitment of 20 new positions next year and an additional 29 by 2027. Notably, the expansion of the police force aims to address the city’s lower-than-average ratio of police officers per capita compared to the national average.
McBride highlighted a concerning surge in serious assaults and police calls, attributing the strain on the force to a rise in violent crime and call volumes. Despite Saskatoon’s drop in the crime severity index ranking, the city still faces challenges, with notable increases in assaults and incidents involving weapons over the past few years.
The proposed budget adjustments would result in a $12.2 million increment for the police budget in 2026, reaching $142.2 million, and a further $7.7 million increase to $150 million by 2027. Staffing levels within the police department are set to rise to 801 in the upcoming year and 830 by 2027.
If the proposed budget is greenlit, property taxes could see a standalone increase of 3.7% in 2026 and 2.2% by 2027 due to the police budget adjustments. Additionally, the capital budget requests for the police department have been approved at $4.6 million for the next fiscal year and $3.9 million in 2027, primarily allocated towards equipment replacement.