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Remember that small but mighty prairie burg firing on all cylinders, setting growth records in population and job creation, with a booming housing market to match?

That Saskatoon is gone — replaced by a city in downshift.

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Just ask Aaron Carter, a 30-year-old journeyman plumber from Biggar. Last December, he launched a job search within a 200-kilometre radius of his hometown, including Saskatoon. Over the next three months he applied for more than 50 jobs, and got no offers.

“I’d say it’s flooded in Saskatoon for plumbers. I see a new plumbing truck just about every single day or every time I turn around the corner,” Carter said. “There are people out there who have the tickets and want to do the plumbing work, but I mean, not everyone can do it all in one area. It’s impossible.”

His solution was to set up his own plumbing business and take on referral work from an established Saskatoon company. He does small service calls the company is too busy to handle.