City of Swift Current

The City of Swift Current is the hub of southwest Saskatchewan. Located at the junction of Highway 4 and the TransCanada Highway, Swift Current serves a regional population of approximately 55,000 and is home to just over 16,000 residents.

The Swift Current economy is driven by its powerful agriculture engine encompassing cereal and specialty crops as well as the livestock industry. Swift Current is home to three inland grain terminals as well as several agricultural service businesses. The presence of the internationally known Semi-Arid Prairie Agriculture Research Centre further emphasizes farming's importance to the economy, and better growing methods along with diversification are increasing the region's economic stability. Although cattle and wheat still reign supreme, other livestock, cereal grains, pulses as well as oil grains are becoming predominant.

The City has been able to attract various large scale businesses to the community. Swift Current is home to Batco Manufacturing, Rem Manufacturing, and Urban Forest Recyclers who supply half of North America's egg tray market. These and other industries have contributed to the successful diversification of our economy from grain farming, ranching and the oil industry.

Swift Current is the base for oil exploration in Western Saskatchewan an area that yields medium crude oil and medium natural gas. Exploration has increased significantly in recent years. As companies continue to expand their drilling operations, this industry now provides significant economic spin-offs to the community.

The city participated in the Calgary Global Petroleum Show in June of 2006, 2008 and again in 2010. Some top company executives were extremely encouraging, noting that Swift Current and area could expect to see a lot of oil and particularly gas development well into the future. General comments indicated that Swift Current and southwest Saskatchewan should get ready as ramped up activity is coming!

Manufacturing, tourism, and service industries flourish in Swift Current. Over 1,000 licensed businesses, manufacturers, and professional offices serve a growing local market area. These and other industries have contributed to the successful diversification of the economy from grain farming, to ranching, and the oil industry.

Over the past 3 years a tremendous amount of activity for Swift Current, and the immediate and long-term forecast looks extremely positive. Just one of the infrastructure improvements is the i-plex expansion. This 15 million dollar investment provides increased seating and common areas in the hockey arena, as well as a new 6-sheet curling facility.

Other infrastructure project include a new 35 million dollar casino and elaborate perorming arts facility. Many other private developments will have began construction in the new casino area, including a Canadian Tire and a Marks Work Warehouse The Brick, and a new Holiday Inn Express which will capture the many patrons of the casino.

A key cornerstone to any community is having a quality healthcare facility. Swift Current has a new, 38 million dollar regional hospital, which opened in April of 2007. This facility coupled with the excellent healthcare providers, provides a tremendous asset to both city residents and the entire southwest region. The hospital, casino, and other developments will bring a large volume of traffic to the northeast area of Swift Current which will encourage continued development of the highway commercial properties

Swift Current�s City Council and administration continues to foster a positive business environment which has not gone unnoticed. �We have had businesses and residents from all over western looking at Swift Current as an ideal location, and through some of our policies such as our tax incentives for new and expanding businesses, we have shown that we are willing to do what we can to accommodate this interest. Our philosophy remains strong� we want businesses to succeed in Swift Current! To this end we eliminate as much red tape as possible, and provide permits and other requirements in an extremely quick fashion. We realize businesses need to move in a timely manner to take advantage of opportunities, and therefore so do we.�

The City of Swift Current is also aware of the labor crunch that is taking place throughout western Canada as well as the fact that for businesses to reach their potential they need sufficient labor. �Our Council has invested a tremendous amount of money into the cities infrastructure, whether it be for recreational facilities, arts and culture, healthcare, water and wastewater and the list goes on. This is important not only for our current residents, but to those moving to Swift Current to start a new career and raise their family. At the end of the day, this helps business attract employees which in turn continues to grow our community.�

The City has also priorized tourism in terms of local development. With one of the highest non-local traffic counts along the TransCanada #1 Highway, the growth potential is significant.

The economic potential for both new and existing businesses is encouraging. About six million people live within a 800 kilometer radius. Expanding western markets in Canada and the U.S., combined with the City's importance to surrounding rural communities, emphasize Swift Current's continuing role as a financial, service, social distribution and manufacturing centre.

Swift Current is also home to Saskatchewan's first full service enterprise centre. The Southwest Centre for Entrepreneurial Development offers entrepreneurial training and free business counseling to budding entrepreneurs and existing business alike. The Centre offers single window access to a full range of business services. It is home to Southwest Community Futures Development Corporation /Southwest Regional Economic Development Authority, and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation. The Centre also has an extensive business resource library, and public Internet access terminals.