Last month, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith named her new provincial cabinet, including a new Minister for Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation. RJ Sigurdson, the MLA for Highwood, has been appointed to the position, with former ag minister Nate Horner moving to the finance portfolio. RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney had the opportunity to meet with Minister... Read More
Category: Politics
In politics, often times the battle of inches is brought up. However, it may have been a battle of several hundred yards that lead to the recent federal cabinet shuffle, says Derek Robinson, founder and CEO of Mash Strategy. According to pollsters such as Abacus Data and Leger Polling, the Liberal Party of Canada is... Read More
No, you're not having a flashback — Lawrence MacAulay, MP for Cardigan-PEI, is back as minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, much to the surprise of many. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet July 26 ahead of the fall session of parliament, and spurred by the news of seven ministers not seeking re-election next... Read More
If you are a fan of this website or RealAg Radio you know one of my favourite topics to rant about is the current Canadian government's lip service to being focused on trade. Much of this is triggered by the fact we are an export-focused nation with much of our GDP driven by trade but... Read More
A cabinet shuffle is said to be in the works this week and some media sources are describing it as significant. While many Canadians will have their eyes on higher profile cabinet roles, the interest for rural Canada will be on the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (AAFC). Marie-Claude Bibeau has been the minister for... Read More
The federal government announced a series of changes to its policies around pesticide use on Tuesday, including the introduction of a ban on cosmetic uses of pesticides on federal land and the end of a nearly two-year pause on reviews of maximum residue limits (MRLs). CropLife Canada, which represents companies that make crop protection products,... Read More
The current political climate between Canada and China could be called chilly, however the strained diplomatic relationship seems to be having little impact on the real world economic and trade relationship. Carlo Dade, director of the trade and investment centre at Canada West Foundation, says that despite political tension, trade with China is increasing. Why... Read More
There are some topics that can be covered in a snippet — perhaps a three or four minute recap or update on the latest happenings. The current status of Russian's war on Ukraine and the cascading impacts on everything from grain markets to geopolitical leader wrangling is not one of those topics. In this lengthy-but-very-worth-the-listen... Read More
One of the busiest people in agriculture may be Senator Rob Black. The Ontario senator seems to be everywhere these days talking to everyone on a host of issues. Earlier this month, Black's sponsored bill to establish Food Day in Canada received unanimous support at third reading in the House of Commons. The first official... Read More
Earlier this week, the House of Commons unanimously passed at third reading Senator Rob Black’s bill that seeks to establish a Food Day in Canada, thus ensuring it will become law. Twenty years after it was established, Food Day Canada officially becomes enshrined in legislation with Bill S-227, an act to establish Food Day in... Read More