Exploratory process begins for northern Saskatchewan university
‘Giving northern students more opportunities to learn closer to home means more of our people, talent, and investment can stay in the North. The work to explore that possibility begins now,’ Buckley Belanger wrote on social media. / FACEBOOK PHOTO
Saskatchewan MP and Rural Development Secretary of State Buckley Belanger has launched an exploratory process to examine the possibility of establishing a university in northern Saskatchewan, saying northern students should have greater access to post-secondary education without leaving the region.
“We must create a University of Northern Saskatchewan. It is time,” Belanger said.
“Every other northern jurisdiction across this country has one. Why can’t northern Saskatchewan have one, too?”
Belanger, MP for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, said the initiative is part of a broader effort to strengthen northern Saskatchewan.
“Local university training in the north is a critical piece of what I think is a required infrastructure to build a new north,” he said.
The exploratory process is expected to begin in early fall and conclude before the end of 2026. A final report will outline potential options, strategies and steps toward establishing a university.
Belanger said the region needs a more coordinated approach to university education.
“I think it is time that we not have an ad hoc approach,” he said. “We need to improve our process for northern Saskatchewan.”
The process will involve the provincial government, northern and Indigenous leaders, existing post-secondary institutions, industry and other stakeholders.
Geordy McCaffrey, who has more than 30 years of experience developing university opportunities for Indigenous and northern residents, will help coordinate the initiative.
McCaffrey said northern Saskatchewan already has several institutions offering programming, but described the system as fragmented.
“When you look at the landscape of the north, we have about five different institutions operating there,” McCaffrey said.
“It’s kind of an ad hoc approach to university training. There’s a program here, a program there, and there’s no continuity.”
The process will engage with roughly 30 to 50 stakeholders and seek input from Indigenous leadership. Specific locations will not be considered at this stage.
Prince Albert Grand Council Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte welcomed the announcement but said the work is only beginning.
“This is just a start,” Hardlotte told the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. “But everything that we accomplish has to have a starting point.”
Belanger said education is essential to addressing challenges in the north, including shortages of teachers and health professionals, while supporting the region’s growing resource sector.
“I live in the north, and I see the gaps and I see the problems and we’re not going to fix it without education and without higher learning,” Belanger said.
