A new survey has found that Saskatchewan is among the leading provinces in Canada in unaffordable, unsuitable or inadequate housing, also known as core housing needs.

According to the Canadian Housing Survey released by Statistics Canada on Monday, Saskatchewan and Alberta both had the second highest incidence of core housing needs in 2024 at 13 per cent.

The Canadian Housing Survey gathered results from October 2024 to March 2025, with a total of approximately 37,000 households participating.

In Saskatchewan, around 3,300 households submitted results.

“Core housing need is a measure we’ve been using in Canada for quite some time starting in the 1980s,” said Jean-Philippe Deschamps-Laporte, assistant director at Statistics Canada. “It’s a composite measure that looks at whether a household spends more than 30 per cent of its income on shelter costs, or whether they live in a dwelling that needs major repair, or that they don’t have enough bedrooms for the number of people in their household.

“If you’re in either of those three situations, we test the income of the household against alternative housing.”

Regina saw 13.5 per cent and Saskatoon saw 12.9 per cent of its housing unaffordable, unsuitable or inadequate.

Only B.C. had a higher rate at 15.7 per cent.

In Canada, 23.2 per cent of households revealed they were living in housing unaffordable to them, with renters more likely than owners to live in unaffordable housing in 2024.

This was up from 22 per cent in 2022, with unaffordable housing defined as spending at least 30 per cent or more of their income or shelter costs.

“A lot of the people that are coming through our doors and applying for housing, their houses are in disrepair,” said Steven Drysdale, director of development at Namerind Housing Corporation. “You have four or five people living in a three-bedroom house. The bathrooms, the kitchens, the whole house is falling apart.”

Drysdale says he plans to carry conversations on core housing needs to the “House on the Hill day” in Ottawa, an event meant to talk about important issues for the social and non-profit housing sector.

The survey also revealed over one in four households in Canada, or 27.9 per cent, reported they experienced financial difficulties over the last year due to rent or mortgage increases, up from 22.6 per cent in 2022.

“It’s surprising to me that we’re not seeing a bigger jump versus 2022 given all the other factors that people are dealing with, ” said Bruce Sellery, CEO of Credit Canada. “First among them is mortgage renewals, most people who are going to renew are paying more every single month than they were if they got their mortgage at the depths of those rates a couple of years ago.”

“I’m kind of surprised that affordability is bad, but I kind of thought it would be worse.”

Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Social Services says they are “increasing the availability of safe and appropriate housing for families and individuals” and that “new and continuing projects totaling $17.6 million will support repairs in provincially owned housing units to be rent-ready and new affordable housing units created through the rental development program.”

A third protest has been organized against the Bell AI data centre project in the Rural Municipality (RM) of Sherwood near Regina.

An organization dubbed “No Data Centres on Treaty Land” announced demonstrators would be protesting the scheduled RM council meeting for Sept. 23.

The group held its first demonstration in April, when the RM council voted in favour of approving the initial 300-megawatt (MW) facility.

The latest demonstration follows the announcement that the project has now quadrupled in scope, to 1.2 gigawatts.

The group claims that the vote to approve the data centre project was “undemocratic, neglectful, and corrupt”, arguing there was a lack of public consultation. Additionally, the group shares deep concerns over power and water usage and environmental impacts.

The provincial government has defended the data centre by highlighting the jobs and economic spinoffs that will be created by the now $52 billion project.

The province, and Bell Canada, have repeatedly responded to questions of power and water concerns, pointing to Saskatchewan’s “Bring Your Own Power” policy, and the centre’s closed loop coolant system not requiring a continuous supply of water.

Saskatchewan’s police oversight agency has found no officers acted improperly in an incident which saw a man die after crashing his truck into a sewage lagoon while fleeing a traffic stop.

A report published Wednesday from the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) found no actions from officers led to the death of an 18-year-old man who fled a traffic stop near Langham, Sask. in the early morning hours of Aug. 24, 2024.

SIRT says the man passed away from acute cocaine intoxication.

What happened

The 18-year-old driver, referred to as the “affected person” in the report, visited a home in Saskatoon sometime between 8-9 p.m. on Aug. 23 and left at around 1 a.m. on Aug. 24.

Shortly after he left the home, two members of Warman RCMP witnessed the affected person’s truck in the area and made a note of the vehicle’s unevenly lit headlights and lack of taillights.

The police vehicle made a U-turn and tried pulling the affected person over on Highway 16. However, the driver did not stop. The officers ultimately made the decision to halt their attempted traffic stop and pulled over at 1:11 a.m., contacting other units in the area to be on the lookout for the truck — an older Chevrolet S-10 with a driver’s side door painted with a Canadian flag.

A member of the Corman Park Police Service (CPPS) responded, noting they believed they knew the identity and address of the affected person due to the vehicle’s distinctive appearance.

At 1:23 a.m., the CPPS officer eventually spotted the driver at the intersection of the Dalmeny Grid and Highway 16, travelling around 110 kilometres per hour with no lights on and its licence plate obscured.

The CPPS officer followed the driver from a distance, and witnessed him pull onto a back road near Langham at around 1:34 a.m. A short time later, the truck left the road and travelled through the ditch and entered a field west of Langham.

At this point, the CPPS officer radioed the unit which attempted the traffic stop to confirm it was related to offences under the Traffic Safety Act and not the Criminal Code.

The officers discussed the matter over the radio and concluded the truck wouldn’t get far as it was a two-wheel drive, and it was raining heavily. Members of the various police services involved met at the site where the truck left the road and debriefed, clearing the area shortly after.

At around 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 24, an officer with the Dalmeny Police Service (DPS) visited the affected person’s home and spoke with family members, who told police the behaviour was unusual and that they were worried — as the affected person had not come home.

The affected person was listed as missing the following day, as no activity was found on his cell phone or banking.

At around 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 25, the Saskatoon Police Service’s aerial unit spotted the affected person’s truck in a sewage lagoon northwest of Langham.

At 10:19 p.m., the Langham Fire Department got on scene and checked the partially submerged vehicle. No one was found inside and it was towed out of the lagoon.

The following day, Aug. 26, at 6:53 p.m., police received a call from a friend of the affected person, revealing the search group had found a body in the lagoon.

The investigation found at some point after the vehicle came to a stop in the lagoon, the affected person exited it and ultimately died as a result of acute cocaine intoxication.

SIRT, following a review of the evidence, which included interviews with 12 civilian witnesses and six officers — the watchdog agency found no reasonable basis that police actions caused or contributed to the affected person’s death.

The Regina Police Service (RPS) says the possible remains discovered near Mosaic Stadium earlier today were not bones at all.

In an update issued Wednesday afternoon, RPS confirmed the apparent ‘bones’ that were discovered was actually a calcified piece of metal.

Officers were called to the 1700 block of Elphinstone Street just after 10 a.m. after what appeared to be bones were found by a crew working in the area.

The service’s major crimes and forensic identification units did respond to the scene.

RPS thanked the public and its investigative partners for their assistance.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said he’s prepared for the possibility of U.S. President Donald Trump ordering a military invasion of Canada, according to a new report.

In an interview with The New York Times published Wednesday, Carney described the prospect of an invasion as an “extreme tail risk,” but that it would be “irresponsible” not to prepare.

Earlier in the day, Trump said on Truth Social that “Canada is destroying itself by allowing millions and millions of people into the Country” who were “essentially unchecked and unvetted.”

Meanwhile, Carney spoke in New York at a so-called “pledging event” for the OceanEye observation system, funded in large part by the European Union.

An e-bike cyclist was seriously hurt after a collision with a vehicle on Saturday.

Regina police say it happened shortly after 8 p.m. near the 400 block of Albert Street.

“The male who was riding the e-bike was transported to hospital by EMS with what appeared to be serious, life-threatening injuries. The driver, and lone occupant, of the vehicle was not injured,” read an RPS news release.

The incident caused the southbound lanes of the 400 block of Albert Street between Second Avenue North and Avonhurst Drive to be temporarily restricted on Saturday night.

Regina police state they continue to investigate the incident.

An ongoing investigation has led to an increased police presence north of Pelican Narrows.

As of 2:42 p.m., Monday, the police presence continues in the area. However, Highway 135, which was previously closed between Pelican Narrows and Sandy Bay, has now been re-opened to traffic.

Saskatchewan RCMP provided more details in its update Monday afternoon.

On Sept. 21 at around 1 a.m., Pelican Narrows RCMP learned that a gun was fired at a vehicle in the area. One of the vehicle’s passengers was treated at a local clinic for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police searched for the suspect vehicle and found it at around 4:15 a.m. Despite deploying lights and sirens, the suspect did not stop. Police pursued and fired on the vehicle.

The suspect vehicle was later found abandoned on Highway 135. The suspects are believed to have fled the area on foot.

The suspect vehicle is described as a black 2016 Dodge Journey with the Saskatchewan license plate 894 KUG.

RCMP say investigators are hoping to speak to anyone who saw the suspect vehicle late on Sept. 20 or early Sept. 21.

The service reiterated that no imminent risk to public safety has been identified.

Regina Crime Stoppers is asking for the public’s help identifying a suspect in connection with a vehicle arson last month.

The incident happened at about 3:40 a.m. on Aug. 30 on the 500 block of Toronto Street.

According to police, an unknown person approached a parked vehicle and appeared to pour a flammable substance on it before setting it on fire.

The suspect was last seen running north toward First Avenue.

Police have released video and a still image of the suspect as part of the investigation.

Anyone who recognizes the suspect pictured below, or the logo on the back of their hoodie to come forward.

Police are also asking residents in the area to check security camera footage for anything that may be connected to the incident.

Callers do not have to identify themselves, and calls are not traced or recorded.

If you know any information leading to an arrest call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-tips (8477)

EVO Radio Network – Scheduled Maintenance Notice

EVO Radio will be conducting a network-wide server migration and infrastructure update beginning Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 3:00 AM, with work expected to be completed by Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 8:00 PM.

During this maintenance window, the following services may be temporarily offline or intermittently inaccessible at various points:

Websites

• https://z1035.evoradio.ca/

• https://979thecowboy.evoradio.ca/

• https://101therockhound.evoradio.ca/

• https://887thegoat.evoradio.ca/

• https://advertiseraccess.evoradio.ca/

• https://vipclub.evoradio.ca/

• https://evomcorp.com/

• https://djspinderella.evomcorp.com/

Live Broadcasting

• Z103.5

• 979 The Cowboy

• 101 The Rockhound

• Classic 88.7 The Goat

Stream Relay Network

• All Stream Relay services will be unavailable during the migration.

Because this update involves server transfers, database installations, and name server changes, exact downtime periods cannot be guaranteed. Individual service interruptions may vary, with some components taking up to several hours to complete.

Our support and technical teams will work to keep all stations and websites online for as long as possible and will restore services immediately as each system becomes available. Broadcast services and station websites will be prioritized, followed by additional network services.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we complete these upgrades, which are designed to improve performance, reliability, and long-term stability across the EVO Radio Network.

Thank you for your continued support,
EVO Radio Network

🎉 Update Completed Successfully! 🎉

We are thrilled to announce that our scheduled network update has been completed without any issues! 🚀 All our broadcast stations, streams, and websites are now fully operational and running better than ever.

What’s New?

Here’s what you can expect from this update:
✅ Improved Audio Player – No more interruptions or cutting off! Enjoy seamless streaming on our websites.
✅ Enhanced Stream Stability – Our radio streams are now more reliable than ever.
✅ Upgraded Security & Quality – Improved protection and enhanced broadcast quality for an unmatched listening experience.

Fully Operational Services:

🎵 Stations:

• Z103.5 – https://z1035.evoradio.ca/
• 979 The Cowboy – https://979thecowboy.evoradio.ca/
• 101 The Rockhound – https://101therockhound.evoradio.ca/
• Classic 88.7 The Goat – https://887thegoat.evoradio.ca/

🌐 Websites:

• EVO Radio Advertiser Access – https://advertiseraccess.evoradio.ca/
• EVO Media Corporation – https://evomcorp.com/
• DJ Spinderella – https://djspinderella.evomcorp.com/

Experiencing Issues?

While everything is running smoothly on our end, we’re here to help if you encounter any issues. If you’re having trouble with our broadcasts or websites, please report the issue to us immediately so we can address it.

📧 Contact Us:

If you have having any issues please reach out to us on our websites!

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this process. We’re committed to providing you with the best listening experience possible and appreciate your support!

🎧 Happy Listening!
The EVO Radio & EVO Media Corporation Team