NDP leader Carla Beck says Saskatchewan’s immigrant retention rates are the lowest outside Atlantic Canada.

The NDP points to statistics showing five-year retention rates have fallen from 78 per cent down to 63 per cent since Scott Moe has been Premier.

“Anyone who grew up here knows that Saskatchewan has the potential to be the best place to live and work in Canada,” she said. “Yet with Scott Moe at the wheel, new families and immigrant workers like doctors or tradespeople are leaving”

Beck was joined at the Legislature by international students at the University of Regina. They said inadequate access to health care and a lack of jobs in their fields of study were barriers to remaining in Saskatchewan.

The NDP says the government needs to include English as an additional language support in schools, provide better access for housing units, increase financial support for organizations supporting immigrants, and expanding start-up incentives to make Saskatchewan competitive with other provinces.