S10:E09 On the Road with SUMA.mp4S10:E09 On the Road with SUMA.mp4
MuniCast
Season 10 of MuniCast wraps up on the road as SUMA’s president and CEO reflect on their province-wide roadshow, sharing common municipal challenges and successes. The conversation focuses on collaboration, advocacy, and education for Saskatchewan’s urban communities.
30:57•30 Jun 2026
On the Road with SUMA: How Saskatchewan Communities Work Better Together
Episode Overview
- Face-to-face visits across eight regions help SUMA hear directly from mayors, councillors, and administrators about their realities.
- Core issues raised across Saskatchewan centre on infrastructure, public safety, and health, including the need for a full range of healthcare staff.
- Stories gathered on the road inform SUMA’s advocacy, giving provincial and federal governments concrete, local examples to respond to.
- Collaboration between municipalities, and with partners like SARM, is seen as essential for effective services and stronger bargaining power.
- Educational sessions and site tours are tailored to regional needs, letting members learn from best practices and innovative community projects.
“It is absolutely essential because we cannot do this apart. We need to do these things together.”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against addiction? While this conversation isn’t about alcohol use directly, it speaks strongly to anyone who cares about community, service, and showing up for others – themes that often run alongside recovery. Season 10 of MuniCast wraps up on the road in Prince Albert, where host Chris sits down with SUMA president Randy Golden and CEO Jean‑Marc Nadeau to chat about SUMA’s eight‑stop summer roadshow across Saskatchewan.
The style is relaxed and conversational, with plenty of real-world examples from small northern communities through to larger urban centres. You’ll hear why it matters so much to meet mayors, councillors, and administrators face to face in their own communities.
As Randy puts it, “we have been very blessed… meeting face-to-face with our mayors, our councillors… and hearing from them directly, you really can’t beat that.” Common themes keep surfacing: infrastructure, public safety, health services, and the struggle to recruit not just doctors and nurses, but the support staff who keep systems running. Jean‑Marc explains how these local stories don’t just stay in the room.
Staff are listening remotely, turning what they hear into real advocacy with provincial and federal governments, backed by concrete case studies and data. Collaboration is a big focus – between urban and rural municipalities, with sister organisation SARM, and through shared projects like a community-owned fish plant and school-run greenhouse. There’s also a strong educational thread.
Roadshow sessions are shaped by member surveys and regional needs, from flooding and watershed issues to new recycling programmes and financial tools like SUMA Invest. The tone stays hopeful and practical, showing how communities learn from each other’s successes. If you’re interested in how people work together under pressure, keep showing up, and build something better for those around them, this road trip conversation might spark a few ideas of your own.
What lessons could your own community borrow from Saskatchewan’s “urban family” approach?
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