As Saskatchewan Polytechnic and USask continue to move ahead on consolidating their campuses, The Sheaf sought out opinions from both institutions to weigh in on this decision.

The current Saskatoon campuses of Saskatchewan Polytechnic are expected to close across the city in the next few years as students are transferred to a new campus that will be built on USask grounds at Innovation Place. The new Polytechnic campus will be called the Joseph A. Remai Saskatoon Campus, after the philanthropist who donated $25 million towards the project last year.

As of right now, Polytech’s campuses span 12 buildings across Saskatoon. The main campus is located at 1130 Idylwyld Drive North, where most Polytech students attend and most student services are located. 

Ground broke on the new Skilled Trades and Technology building last year, and USask Facilities is beginning to update the utilities underground for the project. With construction expected to begin as early as 2026, The Sheaf sought out Polytech students to see how some are reacting to the planned move. 

Many Polytechnic students who were interviewed about the planned move were excited about the prospects of combining campuses and research.

Jaman, a BioScience major at Polytech, expressed a positive outlook on the move. “It’s definitely good to move there [because] the new campus’s infrastructure and facilities will be up to date. They can’t install new things here because of the engineering and infrastructure design.”

Annie, another BioScience major at Polytech, hopes that “with some science programs, there could be more collaboration with the university [because] they already have a lot of [buildings] like Innovation Place.”

Eve, a Polytech student in the Primary Care Paramedic Program, says that “I think it would be kind of cool. It would all be in one spot [and] better than being on 33rd—[which] is kind of sketchy.”

Their concern, however, is mostly around parking. “Right now [at Polytech] we have free parking [on nearby residential streets]. But once you go to the [USask] campus, you don’t—or if you do, they’re only one-hour slots and it’s a few blocks away.”

Some Polytech students who are unhappy with current Polytech infrastructure look forward to the prospect of moving. Michael, a Polytech student in the Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) program, says that the current Polytech campus on Idylwyd is “definitely way too small for what we have for class sizes in our program.”

Brooklyn, another student in the MLT program, adds that “Rooms get double booked, and then when we’re supposed to be in the lecture, we have to get our lectures cut short and have to move to other classrooms sometimes.”

Michael also recounts that there are no male change rooms for lab techs. “There’s some in the gym, but our gym is very small and outdated.”

While some students prefer parking in residential areas around the Idywyld campus, others aren’t so happy about the first-come, first-serve system for the school’s parking lots. “If you don’t show up by 7:30 a.m., you’re not getting parking at school,” Brooklyn says. “And you have to pay every single day for parking—there are no passes. We have to pay through the park meter, which is [owned] by a third party.”

Students interviewed at USask are also generally content about the prospect of Polytech moving to Innovation Place, and concerns addressed were mostly over parking and space.

Ishra, a Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology student, says that “I think it will bring more diversity in students because [right now] Polytech is not nearby and we don’t know anything about how their curriculum or degrees work. I think if they’re around us, we’ll get to know more about [what they’re doing].”  

Rahim, a Biology major, also says that “I think it will enhance student culture and it will allow people to be more familiar with different programs that are available to you [and] not just the university programs that are four years long.” She adds that while she believes bussing has always been slow, she hopes the combined efforts of Polytech and USask putting pressure on the city to improve transportation will help address the issue of overcrowding.

Logan, a student in Arts & Science, says that “I think it’s an excellent decision because it centralizes secondary education under one umbrella within the province.” He says that “parking is already an issue,” and that “if I were [USask], I would honestly just make a new parking lot because campus is pretty close to the outer limits [of the city].”

Ashton, a USask student also in Arts & Science, says he has concerns over student housing. “I know there’s a lot of people at USask who could not get into student housing, so how is that going to work with the Polytech campus?”

USSU President Emma Wintermute said in a statement to The Sheaf that “the impact on the USask campus should be minimal” and that “university leadership does not foresee any effect on our existing infrastructure.”

Additionally, Wintermute adds that “it will be important to look to Saskatoon Transit and the Link project for support, which are expected to help alleviate transportation and parking concerns.”

Link, the city’s rapid transit bus plan, began construction of new rapid transit stations in 2024 and is expected to be completed in three to four years. 

Wintermute concludes that “While there are always questions about how this move could impact the USask campus, the USSU Executive team encourages all members of our campus community to see this as a positive addition. Being closer to students at Saskatchewan Polytechnic is valuable and provides increased opportunities for student leadership collaboration and the exchange of ideas and diverse student experiences.”