Canada's Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay is quietly heading to China on an unannounced trip to work on mitigating harm from potential Chinese duties on Canadian canola. The timing and magnitude of possible tariffs or restrictions on Canadian canola are still unclear, but the industry is bracing for the possibility of retaliatory measures taking effect in... Read More
Category: Agriculture Policy
The decisive comeback victory by Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election has kicked off the political parlour game of speculating who the president-elect might choose to serve in key cabinet roles. It appears the Trump team is much more organized than it was in 2016 and ready to hit the ground running with appointments... Read More
The private member's bill that aimed to prohibit any concessions to Canada's supply managed dairy, poultry, and egg markets in future trade talks has been derailed by an amendment passed at the Senate's foreign affairs and international trade committee. Bloc MP Luc Theriault's Bill C-282 is technically still alive, but the odds of it becoming... Read More
In life, there are several topics traditionally avoided in conversation when gathering with friends, such as politics, religion, and money. Some ideas are best left parked in your head instead of being debated in the open as they can fray long-time friendships or even family. For the bond of Canadian agriculture going forward, the idea... Read More
"Trump won't actually put tariffs on us, will he?" That's a common question across Canadian agriculture as the dust settles on a decisive Republican victory in the U.S. presidential election. During the campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly talked about applying universal tariffs in the 10 to 20 per cent range, with the possibility of somewhat higher... Read More
Trade in Canada's agriculture sectors depend not only on having reliable products to take to market, and the capacity to get them there, but also on industry advocacy and the ability to lobby the government for the needs of each sector. Stephen Heckbert, executive director of the Canadian Pork Council (CPC), says that their organization's... Read More
As the calendar moves toward 2025, global pork producers, despite improving profitability, continue to face challenges from trade, disease and demand uncertainties. In its recent report on global pork markets, Rabobank says these questions as well as the potential impacts of political instability and La Niña further complicate a market that is currently experiencing a... Read More
Canada's largest port, the Port of Vancouver, is at a standstill this week, as labour negotiations between the B.C. Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 broke down and resulted in a lockout and strike on Monday. This is not the first time this port has been impacted by labour... Read More
Discussions surrounding different agricultural policies and their impacts on Canadian industry have been a common theme in the last while. A few of those policies that could end up having a notable impact are three that are in the process of being introduced in the United States. In an interview about these three policies and... Read More
A pair of private member's bills that are supposed to ensure farmers have more than one option for repairing their own equipment and to ensure that different brands of parts and machines can work together received their final approval in the Senate on Oct. 31. The only step left in the approval process for Bills... Read More