Are other cities better at clearing snow than Saskatoon?

One of the noticeable changes during Saskatoon’s 2025 budget deliberations at city hall this past week was an increase to the snow and ice budget.

While some councillors didn’t want to get caught up in all the recent snowfall, council ultimately decided to add $500,000 to pay to clear a sixth snowfall of five centimetres or more every year.

Time will tell if that increased funding is enough to meet demands and recent weather trends.

The City of Saskatoon labels snowfall of five centimetres or more a “snow event.” In one week in November, Saskatoon received snowfalls of 17 and 25 centimetres, pushing the snow event tally to six snow events already this year.

An additional $1.6 million dollars was added to the 2025 snow and ice budget for a total of $18.1 million dollars, but that still falls short of recent spending.

The city’s finance department says it will have to take $5.3 million from the $6.9 Snow & Ice Stabilization Reserve this year, a fund put in place to cover costs beyond the budget.

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The city estimates that will push the 2024 snow budget to around $21.7 million dollars. This is largely because of a March snowfall that dropped more than 30 centimetres, forcing the city to plow residential areas.

Saskatoon’s policy is to clear residential streets after 25 centimetres of snowfall. Despite this, the city opted not to clear residential areas after the November storms.

“Some of the trends we're seeing is increased number of snow events and more snow in those snow events, too,” Terry Schmidt, the general manager of transportation and construction, told councillors on Monday.

“So, it is causing some risk to our snow budget.”

How does Saskatoon compare to other prairie cities?

Edmonton, a city more than three times the size of Saskatoon, has a snowfall budget of $67 million. It plowed roads six times in 2023 when 2 centimetres or more hit the ground, but crews also clear 500 kilometres of bike paths and walking paths anytime snow lands. As for residential clearing, crews move in once there’s 5 centimetres of snowpack.

Winnipeg has a $40.45 million snow budget for 2024, an increase from $36.26 million in 2023. City crews are put to work once 3 centimetres of snow lands on the ground, and the threshold for calling a residential plow is 10 centimetres accumulation, or equivalent drifting conditions.

Regina has a 2024 snow budget of $10.6 million, an increase of $2 million from 2023. Regina was able to save some money due to last year’s mild winter. Crews cleared streets city-wide on three occasions after 5 centimetres fell, and no residential clearing was necessary. The city’s policy is to clear residential roads after 15 centimetres accumulates during a storm.

It remains to be seen if Saskatoon will adjust its snow removal practices to align itself closer to other major cities.

A municipal scan of other cities was ordered by council this week. Residents likely won’t learn of changes to the snow and ice program until next year, unless council amends the 2025 budget.