Saskatchewan uranium and potash sales hit records highs: Energy Minister optimistic about future of industry
June 16, 2025, 5:13 pm
Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
It was a record breaking year for construction in Moosomin in 2024, with construction in the town of Moosomin and next to the town in the RM of Moosomin in 2024 totalling $24,086,781.
That total is about four times the $6,193,713 in building permits in 2023 and nine times higher than the $2,638,300 in 2022.
Of the $24 million in construction, $16,786,781 was within the town of Moosomin itself, and the remainder is commercial construction on the edge of Moosomin, including the new IJACK building, the new Johnston’s Grain building, the new Mantle building and the new Sunny Transport building, which are in the RM but immediately adjacent to the town.
Within the town of Moosomin, residential building permits totalled $5,776,781 through 14 permits while five commercial projects accounted for $11,010,000. Borderland Co-op’s new 30,000-square-foot food store in Moosomin contributed $10,0000 to that total.
“A lot of that would be the new grocery store, because that one is $10 million,” explained Economic Development Officer, Casey McCormac.
“The grocery store was our most expensive one, and then the next one would be the two 12-unit apartment buildings that Keller Developments put up. After that, there are quite a few new homes, and I think a lot of that has to do with our residential incentive.”
Borderland Co-op CEO Jason Schenn says building a new food store in Moosomin made sense.
“We’ve been a part of the fabric of our communities for a long, long time,” said Schenn. “We do everything we do with the intent of looking generationally, not just quarterly or for the next two or three years. We look at communities, their potential, and we try to help them survive and thrive wherever we can.”
According to Evan Keller, Owner of Keller Developments, the experience with the town has been positive.
“The town has been amazing to work with, along with Kevin from the Chamber and all the local trades we were able to use,” he said.
McCormac says the town is getting close to reaching its goal under its incentive program.
The incentive program offers $30,000 to anyone interested in a new build, plus $8,000 for each extra door in multi-unit housing.
Playfair Daycare is will also be building a second daycare with 90 new spots. Construction on that daycare is set to begin this year. McCormac said that the 90 new daycare spaces coming to Moosomin will help further development.
“The daycare is incredibly important because I know that there are a lot of families that would like to move to Moosomin and lots of professionals and working parents that want to move to Moosomin but can’t because they have nowhere for their children to go. If they don’t have family here to look after their kids, they can’t work. I know that there are a lot of nurses right now that are working on reduced hours because their kids can’t be in daycare.”
She says the whole community working together has helped bring those projects together.
“The community support in Moosomin and how well the town and the RM and the Community Builders Alliance all work together makes a huge difference,” she said. “It’s something you don’t see in a lot of communities. I always like to say there is that small town feel in Moosomin but you get the amenities of the big city with more safety and knowing your neighbors, that you don’t get in the city.
“People in Moosomin are very positive and entrepreneurial. Sometimes you see small towns that are dying because the people living there have a very negative mindset and they don’t want the growth and they are not looking for it. Whereas in Moosomin everyone is pushing toward that common goal of growth and they all have that entrepreneurial mindset and collaboration to make it happen.”
What does Moosomin need to do to keep the ball rolling? McCormac has a few ideas.
“I think keeping an open mind as to any type of development that we get and just continuing to support the community and bringing good ideas to the table and whatever else we need—putting those ideas out there. You never know what someone might have for an idea that someone else may have never thought of.”
She said she keeps hearing good things about Moosomin from people around the province.
“A lot of people have heard how supportive the community is and that it’s definitely growing and putting itself out on the map. Our location is really great too, so a lot of business owners like that. It’s always difficult to convince the bigger companies that Moosomin can support businesses because our population right in town isn’t huge, but the fact is we have a very large population in the surrounding area.
“I think that will get easier as we get more and more businesses. We’ve got some great store in Moosomin and I think we would be able to support a couple more stores like that, and then that helps promote all of the boutique shopping you can do in town, because people will drive for that.”
McCormac finds it easy to promote Moosomin, because she chose to live in the community.
“I grew up in Moosomin, and I did eight months in Saskatoon for university and I didn’t like living in the city. I just found that it’s so much harder to get around with all the traffic and you don’t know anyone there, and I just loved where I had grown up.
“My parents are here and my friends are here. It’s a small town and I feel safe here. I felt that was a big thing in Saskatoon was that I didn’t feel safe all the time walking places, and I can walk anywhere in Moosomin and feel completely safe. I love it here.”
