Saskatchewan Prompt Payment: How It Differs From Ontario

Key takeaways

• If your Saskatchewan contract was signed on or after March 1, 2022, the owner has 28 days from receiving a proper invoice to pay. Each tier below has 7 days after it is paid.

• There's no Ontario-style 7-day rule here. An owner who sits on an incomplete invoice hasn't made it proper.

• Start adjudication while the job is still running. Once it's complete, you need the other side to agree. Awards are payable in 10 days.

• On most jobs, the 10% holdback comes back 40 clear days after substantial performance is certified. Yearly release is only for contracts over $25 million that run longer than a year.

Same clocks, different fine print

If you've worked in Ontario, Saskatchewan's prompt payment rules will look familiar. Same 28 days. Same 7 days down the chain. Same notices of non-payment. That familiarity is the risk. The details that decide whether you get paid on time are different, and a process built for Ontario can miss them.

Saskatchewan brought in prompt payment and adjudication on March 1, 2022, the first western province to do it. The rules live in Parts I.1 and II.1 of The Builders' Lien Act. They cover contracts signed on or after that date and the subcontracts under them (s. 105.1(3)). If the main contract is older, the old rules apply to the whole job, no matter when your subcontract was signed (s. 105.1(1)).

Here's who pays whom, and when:

The last two rows are the ones trades should know cold. If the owner doesn't pay, the contractor still owes its subs by day 35, and they owe theirs by day 42. The only way out is a notice of non-payment, given on time.

Day 42 is counted from when the contractor gave its invoice to the owner, a date most subs never see. You're entitled to ask. The contractor has to confirm it as soon as possible (s. 5.6(10)).

The Act also binds the Crown, except for highway work under The Highways and Transportation Act, 1997 and Crown-owned streets and highways (s. 5).

There's no 7-day safety net

Since January 1, 2026, Ontario has had a rule that helps trades. If the owner doesn't flag a problem with an invoice within 7 days, the invoice is treated as proper. Saskatchewan has no such rule. The 28 days run from when the owner receives a proper invoice, and an invoice is only proper if it has everything the Act and the contract require. If something's missing, the owner's silence doesn't fix it.

Section 5.1 lists what has to be on it:

1. Your company's name and address.

2. The invoice date and the period the work or materials cover.

3. Something that identifies the contract, such as a contract or purchase order number.

4. A description of what you supplied, with quantities where they make sense.

5. The amount owing and the payment terms.

6. The name, title, phone number and mailing address of the person who should receive the payment.

7. Anything else the regulations require.

It also has to meet any other requirements in your contract.

A few other rules shape how invoicing works. Invoices go out monthly unless the contract says otherwise (s. 5.3(1)). A contract can't make you wait for certification or the owner's approval before you invoice, and a clause that tries has no effect (s. 5.3(2)). Certification after the invoice goes in is still allowed, and testing and commissioning provisions are an exception (s. 5.3(3), (4)). If you need to revise an invoice, the owner has to agree first, and the invoice date can't change (s. 5.3(5)).

If you're the one sending invoices, this is the part to get right. Check each one against that list and against the invoicing clause in your contract before it goes out. In Saskatchewan, the owner doesn't have to tell you something's missing.

Adjudicate before the job wraps up

This is the difference most likely to cost a trade money. In Saskatchewan, you can't start adjudication once the contract or subcontract is completed unless the other side agrees (s. 21.21(3)). Ontario now gives you up to 90 days after the contract ends.

"Completed" can arrive sooner than you'd think. Under s. 4, a contract counts as completed when the price of finishing it, fixing known defects and making the last supply adds up to no more than 1% of the contract price. On a $2 million contract, that's $20,000 of remaining work.

So if a payment dispute is building, don't wait for the final invoice. Give your notice of adjudication while there's still work underway.

Adjudication covers most of what trades argue about (s. 21.21(1)): the value of work done, payment under the contract (including change orders, approved or not), anything in a notice of non-payment, set-off under s. 13 or s. 28, a refusal to certify substantial performance, and anything else both sides agree to send there.

It also moves fast. The Saskatchewan Construction Dispute Resolution Office is the Adjudication Authority. You can't name an adjudicator in your contract ahead of time; a clause like that has no effect (s. 21.32(2)). If the parties can't agree on one, or the one they pick doesn't consent within 4 days, the Authority appoints one within 7 days (s. 21.32(4)-(6)). The party that started the adjudication sends its documents within 5 days of the appointment (s. 21.41). The adjudicator then has 30 days from receiving them to decide, unless the deadline is extended (s. 21.5). A court case or arbitration on the same issue doesn't stop it, unless that case has already been decided (s. 21.21(5)).

There's a lien benefit too. If a lien matter is in adjudication, the lien won't expire until at least 45 days after the adjudicator receives the documents (s. 52.1).

Ten days to pay an award

When an adjudicator orders a payment, the paying party has 10 days from when the decision is communicated (s. 21.7(2)). In Ontario, it's 15. Late amounts earn interest at the prejudgment rate, or the contract rate if that's higher (s. 21.7(3)).

If the money doesn't arrive, the contractor or sub can stop work. They don't have to restart until they've been paid the award, the interest on it, and their reasonable costs from the shutdown (s. 21.7(5)). When work resumes, the paying party also covers the reasonable cost of starting back up (s. 21.7(6)).

An adjudicator's decision isn't the final word, but it holds until a court, an arbitrator or a written agreement between the parties says otherwise, or a court sets it aside (s. 21.52). Anyone who wants it set aside has 30 days to apply, and applying doesn't pause the decision unless the court orders it (s. 21.62(1), (5)). The winning side can also file the decision with the court and enforce it like a court order, generally within 2 years (s. 21.71).

On costs, each side usually pays its own way, and the adjudicator's fee is split down the middle. The exception is a party the adjudicator finds acted frivolously, vexatiously or in bad faith (s. 21.4(3), 21.6, 21.61).

For a GC, the practical upshot is cash planning. An award on a Saskatchewan job comes due 5 days sooner than the same award in Ontario, and a sub who isn't paid on time can down tools.

Holdback still waits for the end on most jobs

Every payer in Saskatchewan holds back 10% (s. 34). Ontario now releases holdback after each contract anniversary. Saskatchewan doesn't, except on very large jobs. On most jobs, you'll wait for substantial performance.

In every case, a registered claim of lien stops the release, and the money has to be otherwise due under the contract.

The subcontract row is the one trades overlook. If your work wraps up long before the main contract, you don't have to wait for the whole project. Ask for a certificate of substantial performance for your subcontract. The payment certifier, or the owner and contractor together if there isn't one, has 7 days to decide (s. 41(1)). Contractors can ask for the same thing on the main contract (s. 41(1.2)). Refusing without a reasonable excuse makes them liable for any loss it causes (s. 42).

The large-contract rule has a wrinkle. Once less than a year is left on the contract after the last anniversary, yearly release stops and the normal rules take over (s. 46(3)).

Saskatchewan also requires most owners to pay holdback into a holdback trust account, run jointly with the contractor (s. 38(2)). The Crown is exempt, as are contracts for houses, renovations to four-plexes and condo units, and contracts with architects or engineers (s. 38(11)). If you have a lien claim, you can ask the owner for the account's bank and account number and a statement of what's gone in and out. The owner has 10 days to answer (s. 82(1), (3)).

What works the same as Ontario: notices of non-payment

If you want to hold back money that's due on a proper invoice, you need a notice of non-payment in the prescribed form. Miss the notice window, and you still have to pay on time.

Notices also have to travel down the chain. A contractor that gets an owner's notice has to tell its subs without delay, and a sub that gets a contractor's notice disputing its entitlement has to tell its own subs the same way (s. 5.51).

Valid reasons for holding back can include set-off under s. 13 or lien set-off under s. 28 (s. 5.7). None of this changes the obligation to pay wages (s. 5.8).

When the owner pays only part of an invoice, the contractor still has 7 days to pass that money down. If the shortfall is tied to particular subs, everyone else gets paid first, and those subs share what's left. If it isn't, everyone is paid proportionately (s. 5.5(2), (3)).

Late payments earn interest at the rate under the Pre-judgment Interest Act. If your contract sets a higher rate, that one applies (s. 5.9).

What to do about it

If you run a trade business, start by checking the contract date on each Saskatchewan job. Prompt payment only applies if the main contract was signed on or after March 1, 2022. Then ask the GC when it sent its invoice to the owner, because your day 35 or day 42 counts from that date. If a payment fight is brewing, get it into adjudication before the job is done. And when your part of the work is finished, ask for a certificate of substantial performance for your subcontract so your 40 days start.

If you keep the books, treat the seven items in s. 5.1 and your contract's invoicing clause as a checklist for every invoice. There's no 7-day rule to catch mistakes for you. Send invoices monthly unless the contract says otherwise, and track three dates for each one: the day it was received, day 14 for the owner's notice, and day 28 for payment. On large contracts, add each contract anniversary and any notice of early release.

If you're a GC controller, the moment an owner's notice of non-payment comes in, tell your subs. Your own notice to them is due within 7 days and has to include the commitment to adjudicate within 21 days. Plan for adjudication awards falling due in 10 days. If you run jobs in both provinces, don't use your Ontario holdback calendar here. Most Saskatchewan jobs won't release holdback yearly.

If you're construction counsel, check the contract date against s. 105.1 before advising on prompt payment or adjudication. Raise the s. 4 deemed-completion test early, because it can close the adjudication window before the last invoice goes in. On lien matters that are also in adjudication, note the extension in s. 52.1.

Frequently asked questions

When did prompt payment start in Saskatchewan?

March 1, 2022, for contracts entered into on or after that date and subcontracts under them (s. 105.1(3)).

How long does a Saskatchewan owner have to pay a proper invoice?

28 days after receiving it, unless the owner gives a notice of non-payment within 14 days (s. 5.4).

Is an invoice deemed proper if the owner doesn't object?

No. Saskatchewan has no deemed proper invoice rule. The invoice must contain the information in s. 5.1 and meet the contract's requirements.

Can I start adjudication after the job is finished?

Only if the other party agrees. Without agreement, a notice of adjudication given after the contract or subcontract is completed can't start an adjudication (s. 21.21(3)).

How fast must an adjudication award be paid?

Within 10 days after the determination is communicated. If unpaid, the party owed can suspend work (s. 21.7).

Does Saskatchewan require annual holdback release?

Only on contracts over $25 million with a completion schedule longer than one year, where no lien is registered and a notice of early release is given and posted (s. 46). Otherwise, holdback is released 40 clear days after substantial performance is certified, or after completion or abandonment (ss. 43-45).

Sources

• The Builders' Lien Act, SS 1984-85-86, c B-7.1, official consolidation. Sections cited: 4, 5, 5.1 to 5.9, 21.4, 21.21, 21.32, 21.41, 21.5, 21.52, 21.6, 21.61, 21.62, 21.7, 21.71, 34, 38, 41 to 46, 52.1, 82, 105.1.

• Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30 (Ontario comparisons), ss. 6.1(2), 13.5(3), 13.19(2), 26.

• Mondaq: Saskatchewan Leads Western Canada To Prompt Payment And Adjudication, March 9, 2022.

• Miller Thomson: Saskatchewan's prompt payment legislation will be in force in March 2022 (Adjudication Authority designation).

• PCL Industrial Management v. Agrium, Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, 2015 (yearly holdback release under s. 46).

This article is general information about Saskatchewan's Builders' Lien Act. It is not legal advice, and Tiercord is not a law firm. Deadlines depend on your contract, your tier and the facts of your project. Speak with construction counsel about your situation.