North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin, in a black-and-white blazer, and other Saskatchewan municipal and provincial leaders during meetings in Ottawa on Oct. 1 and 2. The delegation met with federal ministers and senators to advocate for renewed infrastructure funding to support community projects across the province. (photo credit: Government of Saskatchewan)

By battlefordsNOW staff

OTTAWA

North Battleford mayor hopeful future federal budget will support proposed regional arena

Oct 6, 2025 | 3:50 PM

Mayor Kelli Hawtin says her recent trip to Ottawa was both productive and encouraging, as Saskatchewan’s municipal and provincial leaders presented a united message calling for renewed federal infrastructure funding.

“I think it was a good effort. I think it was productive,” she said. “We had a great team of Saskatchewan leaders that were able to effectively communicate a united voice on the mission.”

On Oct. 1 and 2, Hawtin joined Government Relations Minister Eric Schmalz, Advanced Education Minister Ken Cheveldayoff and mayors from Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Swift Current and Yorkton.

Representatives from the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) and the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) also attended the meetings, which included federal ministers, senators and policy advisors.

Their message, Hawtin said, was clear: municipalities need a new and flexible funding program that allows communities to pursue their own priorities — whether that means upgrading roads, replacing water lines or building recreation centres.

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“The federal government has talked a lot about core infrastructure being water lines, sewer lines and roads,” she said. “What we were going there to highlight is that recreational facilities, like the replacement of the Access Communication Center (ACC), those types of projects are just as important.”

The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), launched in 2018, provided cost-shared funding for hundreds of projects across the province but is now fully allocated. Hawtin said a renewed program is critical for North Battleford’s next major capital priority — replacing the aging ACC.

“We can’t replace the [ACC] with a new regional arena and event center without a program like ICIP, ” she said. “That just won’t be a reality.”

Read more – Regional leaders signed MOU to explore $80.2M twin-pad arena project

Under ICIP, municipalities typically received roughly one-third of project costs from the province, about 40 per cent from the federal government, and covered the remaining share locally. Should a renewed program were approved, an $80.2-million regional arena could see about $32 million from Ottawa, $26.7 million from the province and roughly $21.4 million covered locally.

(screenshot/Government of Saskatchewan)

Hawtin said federal officials appeared open to hearing about community-specific needs.

“There was an appreciation for understanding local context at that level,” she said, noting that Saskatchewan’s delegation “went as a united front.”

The province has already signalled its willingness to commit one-third of funding toward a renewed program, while municipalities have pledged their share and are urging Ottawa to “do the same.”

While she doesn’t expect major funding changes in the upcoming fall budget, Hawtin said she’s optimistic about progress in the spring.

“As for this fall budget, I’m not sure that we have high expectations,” she said. “But there will be another budget in the spring, and I do think that we’re hopeful that we’ll see a renewed cost-sharing infrastructure program, hopefully in the spring budget.”

“Nobody could really tell us, and nobody could even say that will happen this spring, but I do believe the federal government is working towards a program for the spring budget.”

Since battlefordsNOW spoke with Hawtin, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government has announced that future federal budgets will shift to a fall schedule as part of a strategy to separate operational and capital spending. The federal economic and fiscal update will now be delivered in the spring.

“By moving to a fall budget cycle and introducing a new capital budgeting framework, we’re making better-timed and more transparent decisions. This is how we’ll deliver generational investments,” Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.

North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin, front left at the corner, is pictured with Saskatchewan municipal and provincial leaders in Ottawa on Oct. 1 and 2. (photo credit: Government of Saskatchewan)

She said part of the ongoing advocacy is convincing Ottawa that recreation facilities qualify as core infrastructure, given their social and economic importance.

“Recreational infrastructure is also core infrastructure, and it’s part of whole communities,” she said. “It’s part of community safety and well being. Recreational facilities are part of our ability to recruit professionals to our communities.”

Hawtin added that major recreation projects also support the national economy. “Those projects purchase Canadian steel, they purchase Canadian lumber, they create Canadian jobs,” she said.

Although the federal government’s current focus on housing and growth corridors doesn’t directly benefit slower-growing cities like North Battleford, Hawtin said she plans to continue working with the province and other municipalities to ensure local priorities remain visible in Ottawa.

“We have some work still ahead, and I don’t know what the next steps look like, per se, but I think we’ll be still in the loop, continuing to work with other ministries to bring that message to Ottawa.”

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com