At a bustling Toronto job fair, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall made his pitch this week to lure skilled workers into what was once a hardscrabble region.

"Saskatchewan used to be a place to be from," Wall told reporters as he described the province's reversal of fortune. "There were many people who [left and] helped build other communities and businesses across the country. Now [Saskatchewan] is the place to be."

Wall touted the province's rich uranium, oil and gas and potash resources, noting he expects Saskatchewan's industry will continue to prosper despite economic down-swings elsewhere.

"Consider this. There is in this world, thankfully — this is a good part of the globalization of the economy — a greater middle class," he said.

"There are more people that need the things that we have, that want the things that we have, in the medium and long term — and that is especially true of food."

Don Drummond, chief economist with TD Bank Financial Group, said the upswing the province is enjoying is largely linked to its wealth of natural resources.

"Saskatchewan, in fact, has virtually everything. It has oil, natural gas," he said. "Of course, it has agriculture and above all what has really skyrocketed is potash.

"And it's all contained within Saskatchewan, so their economy has been red-hot."

'Good things are happening'

Exhibitors at the job fair Tuesday described widespread opportunity in a range of sectors, from information technology to sales and film production.

Saskatchewan is seeking skilled workers to fill jobs in several sectors, including mining, construction and banking. (CBC)

Strong regional growth, coupled with changing demographics, have spurred the need for more staff at the telecom Crown corporation SaskTel, said HR manager Cory Blair.

Over the next five years, he expects many older workers to retire. So the company is looking for accountants and engineers as well as people with marketing expertise, engineers, installers and IT staff.

The Mosaic Co., which produces potash and other fertilizers, is also struggling to deal with a shifting workforce, with as many as 1,000 workers expected to retire over the next five years. At the same time, the company is expanding three of its mine sites.

Similarly, Brad Reifferscheid, a shop mechanical supervisor with PotashCorp, says his company has set a hiring target of more than 500 people over the next two years. Specifically, the company is recruiting engineers, human resources staff, labourers and equipment operators.

"The industry is really, really taking off and really good things are happening in Saskatchewan," Reifferscheid said of the company's mining operations in the province's central region.

That sense of buoyancy is not limited to traditional industries. Ron Goetz, CEO of the production company Partners in Motion, was in Toronto recruiting people for television and commercial projects.

"Pretty much in all sectors we need people," he said. "We need writers, we need producers, we need editors, we need marketing people, we need managers, we need middle managers — there's a tremendous need in all areas."

Engineer does odd jobs

At a separate barbecue hosted by the premier, Rafique Muhammad of Toronto said he was encouraged by Saskatchewan's job blitz.

Muhammad, who left Pakistan five years ago, is trained as an engineer but has mostly been doing odd jobs since his arrival in Canada.

"To get back to my field, maybe I have to live there for one year, two years," he said.

When asked what could lure workers to pick up and head to Saskatchewan, Michael Fougere, president of the Saskatchewan Construction Association, responded:

"We have jobs, high-paying jobs, careers in Saskatchewan."

Fougere said there are long-term opportunities to be had in construction. His association, which represents 1,200 building companies across the province, is recruiting carpenters, electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, estimators and project managers.

"Our economy is in dire need of labour, no question about that," he said. "I have 625 positions available today that could be filled today."