The Ministry of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport (TPCS) supports, celebrates and builds pride in Saskatchewan. The ministry's strategic focus is on tourism enhancement, quality of life and economic growth. The ministry works with diverse groups and communities to enhance Saskatchewan's cultural, artistic, recreational, sport and social life. TPCS creates positive, synergistic relationships with other ministries and stakeholders to create opportunities for growth in tourism, parks, arts, culture, heritage, recreation and sport. It supports and promotes Saskatchewan tourism, manages and enhances Saskatchewan's provincial parks system, conserves park ecosystems and provincial cultural resources, and provides recreational and interpretive opportunities for park visitors.

TPCS has identified six key priorities that have guided its reorganization and planning to ensure that the commitments made by government are achieved:

1. Promote tourism development and investment - through key strategic activities, targeted capital investment and collaboration with the industry and other levels of government;
2. Enhance Saskatchewan parks - a major provincial tourism attraction; and a consistent source of pride and quality recreation activities for our citizens;
3. Conserve heritage resources that have environmental, recreational and cultural significance throughout the province;
4. Promote a vibrant and sustainable, creative and cultural community recognized and valued throughout Saskatchewan, nationally and internationally;
5. Promote healthy active families through sport, culture and recreation; and
6. Establish a Saskatchewan Capital Commission to preserve and promote the history and culture of our province.

TPCS was established in November 2007. This new ministry brought together the former Department of Culture, Youth and Recreation with Parks Service, which was formerly part of the Department of Environment. In addition, TPCS has initiated the process of establishing a Saskatchewan Capital Commission to preserve and promote the history and culture of our province. The new ministry is combining these elements with a strategic focus on tourism enhancement, quality of life and economic growth - all of which are undeniably connected.

TPCS has 348 full-time equivalent positions.  Head office is in Regina with satellite offices in La Ronge, Meadow Lake, Melfort, Moose Jaw, Pierceland, Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Swift Current. In addition, the ministry has many offices located in parks throughout the province.

Parks, culture and sport are sources of pride in our province and are inextricably part of our robust tourism sector. Together, this mix creates a unique ‘sense of place' which has created a distinctive character for Saskatchewan. Capitalizing on this proud and unique identity, TPCS will work toward securing Saskatchewan's future as a great place to live, to visit and to do business.

The tourism sector plays a vital role in the province's economy and labour market. Industry organizations work closely with the private sector and government in developing and enhancing our attractions, building the sector's business capacity and promoting Saskatchewan to our target markets.

One of the first initiatives of TPCS was to create a Tourism Division. An Executive Director of Tourism will be hired and will work with existing staff to provide strategic leadership necessary to advance the sector. This division will coordinate tourism policy across government. The ministry has also started to develop a strategic tourism framework (i.e., capital investment pool, event hosting pool, etc.) that will be managed by the Tourism Division. The division will work with Tourism Saskatchewan and other organizations to identify new tourism destination attractions in Saskatchewan.

Provincial, urban and regional parks are sources of pride and pleasure for Saskatchewan people. Parks are the second largest tourist attraction in the province. According to an economic impact study conducted in 2004, visitors spent approximately $130 million during park visits. Saskatchewan people enjoy the natural beauty of our parks and share these remarkable treasures each year with visitors from across the country and around the world. Provincial park lands make up over 25 per cent of the land set aside in Saskatchewan under the Saskatchewan Representative Areas Network to protect significant representative examples of all provincial ecosystems. They are also important repositories of provincial history and culture, and provide education opportunities for young and old alike.

The Parks Service is responsible for managing the provincial park system that includes 1.2 million hectares in 196 discrete land parcels (34 provincial parks, eight historic sites, 24 protected areas and 130 recreation sites) distributed throughout the province. The general purpose of each tract of park land is set out by its classification under The Parks Act. TPCS is committed to sustaining the provincial park system and its socio-economic and environmental benefits.

Saskatchewan's natural advantages and cultural heritage draw visitors to our province, enhance community vitality and create a sense of place. The arts and culture sector continues to grow and is part of efforts to promote Saskatchewan across Canada.

The Culture and Heritage Division is committed to strengthening the ministry's relationship with SaskCulture, Saskatchewan Arts Board and the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation. There are three branches in the Culture and Heritage Division: the Cultural Policy Branch provides stewardship of public resources by ensuring that third party organizations achieve outcomes that benefit Saskatchewan residents and visitors; the Heritage Resources Branch has regulatory responsibilities for heritage resource protection under The Heritage Property Act; and the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) collects, preserves, exhibits and studies Saskatchewan's natural, cultural and palaeontological history. Under The Royal Saskatchewan Museum Act, the RSM also assumes stewardship responsibility for the protection and preservation of archaeological and palaeontological objects under the ownership of the crown.

Participating in arts, cultural, recreational and sports activities benefit the entire province, children and youth, their families and communities - something which contributes significantly to our outstanding, vibrant quality of life. This vibrancy contributes greatly to Saskatchewan increasingly becoming a place of choice to raise a family.

The Strategic Policy, Planning and Partnership (SPPP) Division has been reorganized to align its work with the ministry's new mandate and address new government priorities. The division is committed to strengthening the ministry's relationship with Sask Sport and Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association. The division has also been realigned to focus more on stewardship rather than direct management of programs. The division has stewardship responsibilities for the Community Initiatives Fund and Saskatchewan Lotteries. The ministry also has management responsibilities for the Building Communities Program. Work in relation to physical activity has been integrated with sport and recreation.

The ministry also serves on a number of Federal/Provincial/Territorial initiatives related to tourism, parks, culture, heritage, recreation and sport. This involvement facilitates knowledge exchange and partnerships with other jurisdictions in order to develop more effective policies and programs.