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20 min ago 2 min read
Saskatchewan’s Energy and Resources Minister Chris Beaudry has called for a province-wide policy change to drive private investment and increase Canada’s exports in the helium market.
The push comes amid a fragmented supply chain due to the ongoing Middle East crisis, threatening a fifth global helium supply shortage in recent decades.
Saskatchewan currently represents around 3% of the global helium market and is implementing its Helium Action Plan (HAP) to push its supply to 10% by 2030.
The HAP was introduced by the Saskatchewan government in 2021 to boost investment in helium exploration, production, innovation, processing, and export.
Today, helium production investment has reached an estimated $700m in Saskatchewan.
Competitive helium policy changes could encourage private investment and boost domestic and international helium distribution, says Beaudry.
The potential policy change coincides with an industry push for the first helium liquefaction facility to be built in Canada. While Canada produces helium, it currently needs to ship the gas to the US for liquefaction.
Canadian helium producer and distributor North American Helium is working to build Canada’s first liquefier, with its CEO, Nicholas Snyder, saying the site is “shovel-ready”.
“Canada is growing as a helium producer but cannot remain dependent on other countries for processing capacity,” he said.
North American Helium currently accounts for around in North America.
The company has ten helium plants in Saskatchewan and brought an eleventh facility online in in October 2025.
