Tariffs, trade wars loom large as finance minister prepares to deliver Saskatchewan budget [Video]

As with tradition, Saskatchewan Finance Minister Jim Reiter slipped on a pair of new black shoes Tuesday that he will wear when delivering the provincial budget Wednesday afternoon.

“I’ll let you read into that what you will,” he told reporters.

This will be Reiter’s first budget, titled “Delivering for you,” and he’ll deliver it beginning around 2:15 p.m. CST.

The gross provincial debt sits at more than $35 billion, including debt from Crown corporations, Treasury Board, Crowns and entities that rely on government funding.

The government’s mid-year financial report said this year’s deficit is projected to be $743.5 million.

Gage Haubrich, Prairie director for the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation, was outside the legislature Tuesday with a digital counter mounted on the side of a moving truck that shows the provincial debt.