Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Projects
Province: Saskatchewan
City/Region: Southern Saskatchewan
2
Project Rank
Project End: 2034
Project Amount: $4 Billion
Industry Sector: Agriculture
Funding Source: Public
LEED Status: N/A
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2024 | 2 |
About The Project
THE LAKE
Diefenbaker Irrigation Projects will irrigate up to 500,000 acres of land from Lake Diefenbaker, more than doubling the irrigable land in Saskatchewan. Project construction is expected to occur approximately over the next 10 years in three projects The first project is estimated to cost $500 million and will include the rehabilitation of the existing Westside irrigation canal system. This work will increase the amount of irrigable land by 80,000 acres in the area. It is considered one of the most shovel ready irrigation projects in the province with 90 per cent of the current canal already in place.
Project 2 will see the further expansion and buildout of the Westside Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (WIRP), adding an additional 260,000 acres of irrigable land. Once fully built and developed, the project will eventually see land made available for irrigation near Macrorie, Milden, Zealandia, and as far north as Delisle and Asquith.
Project 3 will see the building of the Qu’Appelle South Conveyance Project, adding an estimated 120,000 acres of irrigable land. Starting at Lake Diefenbaker and going south, the project would run near the communities of Tugaske, Eyebrow, down to Marquis and into Buffalo Pound Lake. It would provide the Moose Jaw-Regina corridor and southern Saskatchewan with a secure source of water for the next century and act as a catalyst for significant industrial expansion in the years to come.
Project Owner: Government of Saskatchewan, Water Security Agency
Other Key Players: Prairie Engineering Partners JV (Stantec and MPE Engineering), KPMG (economic analysis)
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