Dual market supporters garnered nearly 40 percent of the total vote, but won only 20 percent of the seats on the Canadian Wheat Board’s board of directors.
On the first ballot, candidates who identified themselves as dual marketers won 24,983 votes, or 37.9 percent of the total, while single desk supporters received 37,197, or 56.5 percent. The other 5.6 percent went to candidates who were non-committal on the marketing issue.
Single desk supporters won eight of the 10 directorships up for grabs, while dual marketers won two.
Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association president Larry Maguire said that concerns him: “You’ve got nearly 40 percent of the people voting for candidates who wanted a voluntary mechanism, and you’ve got only two people representing them on the board.”
National Farmers Union president Cory Ollikka said while the board is obliged to listen to all points of view, the fact remains that eight of 10 candidates won on the pledge to protect single desk selling and price pooling.
“I think those eight people should follow that mandate,” he said.
