Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Crown Investments Corp. Minister Jeremy Harrison at EVRAZ on March 18. Government of Saskatchewan photo
REGINA – On top of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs against Canadian imports, he’s applied an additional tariff burden on steel and aluminum products. For steel, that’s an additional 25 per cent tariff. And in Saskatchewan, EVRAZ is bearing the burden.
The steel and pipe mill on Regina’s north end is getting a bit of a boost from the Government of Saskatchewan by way of some procurement for some of its Crown corporation utilities. On Tuesday, March 18, Crown Investments Minister Jeremy Harrison was at the steel mill to make the announcement.
The province’s Crown corporations are buying Saskatchewan steel to support local jobs, with thousands of pounds of steel and more than a hundred kilometres of pipe recently procured from EVRAZ Steel, according to a government press release.
“The Government of Saskatchewan will always stand up for Saskatchewan’s interests, focusing on pragmatic and sensible solutions, while protecting our jobs, economy and residents,” Crown Investments Corporation Minister Jeremy Harrison said. “By prioritizing the purchasing of local steel for SaskPower and SaskEnergy infrastructure projects, we are helping to keep over 400 hardworking Saskatchewan people on the job right here in Regina.”
U.S. tariffs hit our steel. So we’re hitting back — with a 10,000-ton accelerated order from EVRAZ.
SaskPower will accelerate a significant order of steel from EVRAZ for transmission structures and other infrastructure critical for our power grid.
We will always stand up for… pic.twitter.com/UYPr5NK2yw
— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) March 18, 2025
SaskPower has negotiated a purchase of up to 10,000 tons of steel from EVRAZ, or the equivalent of three-years’ worth of steel for the Crown, which is used for the construction of transmission structures and other infrastructure that is critical to maintain Saskatchewan’s power grid, according to a government release.
“EVRAZ Canada has been a proud part of Saskatchewan’s economy for nearly 70 years,” EVRAZ Canada Senior Vice President Don Hunter said. “The commitment we are seeing today from the provincial government is a strong signal that the Government of Saskatchewan recognizes the importance of domestic steel manufacturing—not only for EVRAZ’s workers who depend on it but for the broader economy that benefits from a strong and resilient supply chain.”
Collaboration between SaskPower and EVRAZ, along with steel structure fabricators, Brandt and JNE Welding, will result in a made-in-Saskatchewan solution that will support the provincial economy while ensuring reliable power for residents and businesses.
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“The United Steelworkers have been at the forefront of fighting for our jobs and for our industry,” USW Local 5890 President Mike Day said. “When hearing of commitments like this from the Saskatchewan government, it eases some of the uncertainty our members have been facing.
“Commitments and investments just like these – to buy Canadian – from all forms of government is what the USW has, and will, continue to advocate for in all Canadian infrastructure projects.”
Sally Housser, left, and Aleana Young were joined by Steelworkers representatives on March 12 in from the for Legislatures. One was Mike Day (sorry, we couldn’t determine the other name) Facebook/Aleana Young
The previous week, Day was on the steps of the Legislature with NDP critics Aleana Young and Sally Housser, calling for action from the provincial government on the steel front.
Currently, EVRAZ is working on an order from SaskEnergy which purchased 125 kilometres of steel pipe through Gateway Tubulars LTD. for the Aspen Power Station project, a new 370-megawatt natural gas power plant near Lanigan. SaskEnergy has procured $79 million from EVRAZ directly or through supplier agreements since 2019.
The Aspen Power Station is a 370 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant being built near Lanigan. While not being built exclusively for the nearby mines, the nearby BHP Jansen Lake potash mine is expected to require 300 megawatts when in full operation. Thus, that’s a lot of power that needs to be moved around the grid in central Saskatchewan.
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Minister speaks
Pipeline Online spoke to Harrison by phone later on March 18.
While Harrison wouldn’t disclose the dollar amount due to “commercial reasons,” he said it was in the “multiple tens of millions of dollars.”
He noted, “It’s a very, very significant procurement from SaskPower today,” adding the SaskEnergy order has been under production since January.
Harrison said the order was accelerated. “We wanted to accelerate this, such that, for the next three years, SaskPower will be able to draw on the order and supply for their needs.”
It was the culmination of weeks of discussions, he said.
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In a very real way, EVRAZ and its capacity to produce large diameter pipe is of national strategic importance as the only pipe manufacturer in Western Canada capable of producing such pipe. Most of the major pipelines build in Western Canada were built with EVRAZ, and previously IPSCO, steel. And with the governments of both Alberta and Saskatchewan talking about goals of eventually doubling oil production in each of those provinces, doing so would entail essentially doubling the capacity of the entire mainline oil pipeline network.
The EVRAZ pipe mill in Regina, back during happier days in 2009 when it was running full-out. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Asked about that, Harrison said, “There is a tremendous importance in making sure that we don’t lose EVRAZ, and that was big part of the reason why we’ve been working with, through our Crown corporations, to secure the orders that we did.
“But I would say this, what we need to do is get to a place in this country where we can actually build pipelines again.
“And there are a whole number of facets that go along in how we get to the place where we can make pipelines again. It’s interesting. I actually said this at the event today. You know, suddenly we have leftist politicians who are suddenly aware of the importance of getting our energy to tidewater and not being reliant entirely on moving our energy down into the US market. Suddenly, they’re aware of the importance of this.
“We’ve been saying this for well over a decade. You know, for 17 years that I’ve been elected, we’ve been talking about this. Now, suddenly, leftist politicians view this as a priority. I hope that once the immediate crisis that we have in front of us passes, and it will. I mean, we’ve been through trade challenges before, we’re going to get through this. But I would hope that these people who are now proclaiming their adherence to the importance of building transnational, east, west, not just north, south, but all of the above, every direction, pipelines to get to tide water. I hope they remember what they were saying in this period of time, because I’m fearful that they won’t. I’m fearful that they’ll forget all of this.
Steel coil prep at EVRAZ in 2009. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
“But we have an opportunity right now to push this, and I know that you know if Pierre Poilievre is elected as prime minister, he’s been very clear that he is going to use federal authorities to have approvals put in place, and has the political will to make sure that this infrastructure gets built such that we can move our energy to tidewater. And that really is a incredibly important component of doubling our oil production, whether it be in Saskatchewan or whether it be in Alberta. We are actually getting a $20 a barrel discount right now because of the fact that we can’t actually move what we’re producing into international markets.
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“So we this is an absolute strategic imperative, and the only way that is going to get built is if we have the capacity to produce that pipe, here, in Western Canada. There are, there are a limited number of other options, which include procuring from places like China or Russia. And I sure as heck do not want to be doing that, because we’re right back into that same jackpot of being entirely dependent on international sources who we who we can’t rely on.
“So we need to be able to do this here in Saskatchewan. We need to be able to produce that pipe here in Saskatchewan. And then on top of that, we need to actually be able to build that energy infrastructure by getting our energy to tidewater, which will then create a very different economic imperative as far as doubling our oil production.
“This all goes together, and that’s why we’ve been as committed as we have been to working with EVRAZ to make sure that this facility continues in operation.
“And frankly, I am very optimistic about what that future is going to look like. There are a lot of discussions that are going on right now. And you know, I’m not in the middle of them. These are private companies that have these discussions, but I’m pretty encouraged by discussions that are happening right now that probably wouldn’t have been happening two years ago.
“So we’re going to work as a government to try and facilitate positive outcomes there, but I’m pretty optimistic about what that future is going to look like. And I sure am really optimistic if there’s a change in national government with a new national government committed to building energy infrastructure.”
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NDP
One of the items the Saskatchewan NDP have been calling for in this tariff war has been “investment in transmission likes to sell Saskatchewan electricity,” according to March 16 post on X by NDP Leader Carla Beck.
Together, we can build a Saskatchewan ready to meet the challenges of today and seize the opportunities of tomorrow.
When we’ve worked together, Saskatchewan has been a national leader and united. We will do it again.
We’ll stand up to Donald Trump and reject the politics of… pic.twitter.com/dHNbIZWuep
— Carla Beck (@CarlaBeckSK) March 17, 2025
In a March 18 press release that came out an hour after the EVRAZ announcement, NDP Finance Shadow Minister Trent Wotherspoon said the Sask. Party’s tax cut doesn’t even lead to real savings until 2026 and the government has ignored repeated calls to lower costs now.
He also called out Premier Scott Moe for suggesting that Wednesday’s budget will offer no concrete plan to address the Trump trade war. “Tariffs of 25 per cent are already hammering Saskatchewan’s steel industry and further tariffs are expected on April 2,” the release said.
“Moe’s been slow and meek with the weakest response in the country while Donald Trump threatens to crush entire industries and communities,” Wotherspoon said. “I hear from people everywhere I go that they’re looking for a plan to respond to the tariffs and make the Saskatchewan and Canadian economies powerhouses for the future, diversifying our markets and reducing our reliance on the United States.”
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