Saskatchewan's New Funding Deal Caps Tuition Increases at 0 to 3 Percent a Year
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026 • Money & Budgeting, Canadian Universities & Colleges, Canada Higher Ed News & Policy
Saskatchewan signed a four-year funding deal with its universities and colleges that caps most domestic tuition increases at 0 to 3 percent a year, in exchange for 3 percent annual increases to operating grants.
💵 The deal was first announced in November 2025 and confirmed in the provincial budget on March 18, 2026.
The tuition cap replaces a previous 4 percent limit.
Institutions get $250 million in new operating funding over four years, plus targeted capital spending.
🎓 USask gets $346 million in operating funds for 2026-27, up $18.3 million, including new medical and nurse practitioner training spots.
Graduate, international and select professional program fees sit outside the 0 to 3 percent cap.
What the deal covers
Saskatchewan's government reached a multi-year funding agreement with the province's universities and colleges, first announced in November 2025 and confirmed in the provincial budget released March 18, 2026. Under the deal, institutions receive a 3 percent increase to their operating funding every year for four years, running from 2026-27 through 2029-30. In return, most domestic tuition increases are capped at 0 to 3 percent a year, down from the previous 4 percent limit. Graduate programs, international student fees and select professional program fees sit outside the capped range, so those costs move independently of the agreement.
The money behind the agreement
The Ministry of Advanced Education is putting $847.1 million into post-secondary education for 2026-27, a 7.5 percent increase over the year before. Over the full four years of the agreement, the province has pledged $250 million in new operating funding to institutions. The University of Saskatchewan alone receives $346 million in operating funds for 2026-27, up $18.3 million from the prior year, with part of that increase earmarked for expanding medical and nurse practitioner training spots. USask also gets $10 million in capital funding to expand its occupational therapy and speech-language pathology programs. Saskatchewan Polytechnic receives $10 million toward a campus renewal project.
University of Saskatchewan president Vince Bruni-Bossio welcomed the predictability of the deal, saying it gives the institution "stable funding for the next four years" rather than negotiating operating grants year by year.
What changes for students at USask and Saskatchewan Polytechnic
If you are a domestic undergraduate at USask or Saskatchewan Polytechnic, expect annual tuition increases somewhere in the 0 to 3 percent range through the 2029-30 academic year, a narrower band than the 4 percent ceiling that applied before. That still means your fees rise every year. It does not mean they stay flat. Budget for the increase at the top of that range rather than assuming the minimum.
If you are heading into a graduate program, an international student, or entering one of the professional programs excluded from the cap, this agreement does not protect your fees the same way. Check your specific program's tuition schedule directly with the institution rather than assuming the 0 to 3 percent band applies.
The trade-off behind the deal is stability for both sides. Institutions get a predictable four-year funding path instead of negotiating year to year, and in exchange they accept a tuition ceiling lower than the one they operated under previously.