SaskatchewanThe provincial Opposition renewed its demand for rent control as Premier Scott Moe promoted Saskatchewan’s affordability during an appearance at a real estate conference on Tuesday in Saskatoon.Premier Scott Moe spoke at a Sask. Realtors Association event on TuesdayJeremy Warren · CBC News · Posted: Dec 09, 2025 3:00 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Sask. NDP leader Carla Beck, left, and MLA April Chiefcalf spoke to media about their push for rent control legislation on the heel of Premier Scott Moe’s appearance at the Saskatchewan Realtors Association’s State of Real Estate 2025 event in Saskatoon on Tuesday. (Jeremy Warren/CBC)The provincial Opposition renewed its demand for rent control as Premier Scott Moe pitched Saskatchewan’s affordability during an appearance at a real estate conference in Saskatoon.“We see rents falling in almost every other province in the country outside of Atlantic Canada.…It’s like the Wild West when it comes to corporate landlords being able to jack up rents,” Beck said at a news conference on Tuesday in Saskatoon.“Without any controls we will continue to see corporate landlords from Alberta jacking up rents on Saskatchewan seniors and young people, because they can.”Beck was responding to the premier’s appearance at the Saskatchewan Realtors Association’s State of Real Estate 2025 event in Saskatoon on Tuesday. Moe said Saskatchewan remains one of the most affordable places to live in Canada and repeated his opposition to rent control policies.“We need to encourage building more, whether it be rental units or houses for families,” Moe told reporters after his appearance.“The way to do that is to encourage that investment. The way to hinder that is to enact policies like rent control that are going to drive that investment to other areas of Canada.… It isn’t going to increase the housing stock.”Last month, the Opposition NDP introduced The Rent Control Act, but the legislation is all but assured to fail without support from the Saskatchewan Party government, which has continuously stated it opposes rent control.The NDP bill would link maximum annual rent increase to the consumer price index (CPI), a tool commonly used to measure inflation. The NDP also pledged to end direct payments to landlords renting to people on social assistance, which the party said led to an increase in homelessness.Saskatchewan again led the nation in average asking rent increases for all property types, increasing 3.9 per cent to $1,490 in November, according to a new report from Rentals.ca. Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia are the only provinces where average asking rents for apartments and condos increased year-over-year.Nationally, the average asking rent (not actual rent paid) for all property types declined 3.1 per cent to $2,074 in November, compared to the same time last year. Rents fell in the six largest cities, with some at the lowest rate in more than three years.Beck doesn’t buy the argument that rent control will slow down construction of new units.“We have a shortage of housing in this province right now,” Beck said. “This government has failed over 18 years to develop a full spectrum housing strategy.”If passed, the private-members bill would make Saskatchewan the sixth province to have some form of rent control legislation.ABOUT THE AUTHORJeremy Warren is a reporter in Saskatoon. You can reach him at jeremy.warren@cbc.ca.
Sask NDP pushes for rent control as Premier Moe touts affordability at real estate event
