Despite weak commodity prices, Regina's economy has fared better than its prairie counterparts to the west. The capital of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon is both a government town (also home to the RCMP Academy) and a services centre for the province’s agriculture, oil and gas and mining industries. The region’s total GDP was forecasted at $14.23 billion in 2016, and real GDP growth is forecasted at 1.8 per cent for 2017, according to the Conference Board of Canada. In recent years, however, oil and gas has come to play a major role in the life of the city. Energy accounts for $3 billion in GDP, thanks to the city’s agacency to the Bakken Field, which accounts for much of Saskatchewan’s 512,000 barrels of production per day. Other commodities are important to the city’s economy too. At the centre of the province’s agricultural belt, home to 45,000 farms, agribusiness generates $467 million in economic activity. And with 20 minutes, including major coal, potash and uranium facilities, within a five hours drive of Regina, the city is also a major centre for mining services.
