Government Accidentally Forgets Saskatchewan Exists in Latest Budget

📝 By Karen Taxley – Ottawa, Ontario

OTTAWA – In a development that has shocked absolutely no one in Saskatchewan, the federal government has released its latest budget with zero mention of the province whatsoever—leading many to wonder whether Ottawa simply forgot it exists.

The 427-page federal budget, titled “Moving Forward, Together (Except Apparently One Province)”, includes funding for transit in Toronto, innovation hubs in Vancouver, energy incentives in Alberta, and culturally ambiguous art installations in Montreal—but contains not a single line item specifically mentioning Saskatchewan.

“We’ve double-checked. It’s not in the table of contents, it’s not in the agriculture section, and it’s definitely not in the footnotes,” said policy analyst Maria Grant, who first discovered the omission. “At one point we thought maybe it was misspelled, but no, it’s just… not there.”

The oversight has triggered a full-blown identity crisis in Regina, where residents are grappling with the realization that their own country might be ghosting them.

The Government’s Explanation: “Oh… Right”

When asked to comment, a federal spokesperson offered the following:

“Oh. Huh. Yeah, we should probably look into that.”

Finance Minister Caitlyn Brevier later admitted the omission was “an unfortunate formatting error,” adding that the province must have been lost between the “Renewable Energy” section and a $6 million grant for urban beehive research in Halifax.

“We absolutely meant to include Saskatchewan,” she said at a press conference, glancing nervously at the word “Saskatoon” scribbled on her palm. “We value its… farming. And… flatness.”

Saskatchewan Reacts Exactly How You’d Expect

Across the province, residents met the news with a mix of resigned sarcasm and “we’ve been emotionally preparing for this since 1993.”

🗣️ “It’s fine. We’ll just keep feeding the country and getting zero credit,” said Marnie from Moose Jaw, mid-way through seeding season.
🗣️ “I’m honestly impressed. You have to try pretty hard to forget an entire province,” added Jeff in Swift Current. “We have wheat, potash, and at least five people.”
🗣️ “Maybe this means we don’t have to pay taxes anymore?” asked a hopeful guy named Darren.

The Saskatchewan government has issued an official response, in the form of a passive-aggressive tweet:

“It’s OK. We didn’t want roads, broadband, or health funding anyway. #InvisibleProvince #BudgetGhostedUs”

Premier Reed Marlowe later told reporters, “We’ll survive. We’re used to being the middle child of Confederation—ignored, overworked, and always stuck between Alberta’s ego and Manitoba’s weather.”

Other Budget Highlights (That Definitely Weren’t for Saskatchewan)

Among the many things funded in the federal budget:

💰 $1.2 billion for green transit in major cities (Saskatchewan has none)
💰 $500 million for coastal resilience (Saskatchewan: no coast)
💰 $75 million for ‘Urban Vibrancy’ pilot projects (no one could define this)
💰 $8 million for bilingual TikTok influencers (to promote civic engagement or maple syrup—unclear)

Even the “rural innovation fund” was allocated entirely to parts of Ontario and Quebec that call themselves rural despite having artisanal candle shops and three sushi places.

Theories Behind the Disappearance

Conspiracy-minded prairie pundits have offered several theories for the government’s glaring omission:

🔍 Saskatchewan accidentally deleted itself from the online budget portal by pressing “back” too many times.
🔍 Someone in Ottawa still thinks Regina is in Manitoba.
🔍 The province was categorized as “miscellaneous prairie assets” and rolled into Alberta’s section.
🔍 The feds are just hoping we’ll secede quietly and make room for Nunavut’s glow-up.

Others speculate the government may be testing the waters for a new minimalist governance model, where ignoring regions entirely reduces paperwork.

“If we pretend Saskatchewan doesn’t exist,” one insider mused, “maybe we don’t have to fund it anymore. It’s a vibe.”

What Now?

Finance Minister Brevier has promised a “corrective memo” will be sent to all departments, and that Saskatchewan will be “added back in digitally” during the fall update.

In the meantime, the province has begun printing its own DIY budget addendum, which includes:

🧾 $100 million for “pothole reconciliation.”
🧾 $15 million to investigate how the hell every road is under construction but none are finished.
🧾 $9.75 for a new provincial social media intern.
🧾 One (1) mandatory shout-out in every federal speech that mentions wheat.At press time, Ottawa had quietly uploaded a one-page PDF titled “Saskatchewan Acknowledged (Unofficial),” featuring a stock photo of a tractor and the phrase “Thanks for the grain!” in Comic Sans.