The outcome of the Canadian Wheat Board director elections is sending the signal that western Canadian farmers are satisfied with their grain marketing agency.
The elections saw three incumbents returned for another four-year term.
The two newcomers hold similar views as the retiring directors they are replacing.
Four of the five successful candidates are considered strong single desk supporters, with the exception being incumbent Henry Vos in District 1.
Here are the results by district:
• District 1– Henry Vos, with 51 percent of the vote on the first ballot.
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• District 3– Stewart Wells, with 54.6 percent on the third ballot.
• District 5– Allen Oberg, with 63.6 percent on the first ballot.
• District 7– Kyle Korneychuk, with 57.1 percent on the first ballot.
• District 9– John Sandborn, with 66.4 percent on the second ballot.
For many, the sharp drop in voter turnout from four years ago was disappointing.
“The CWB is such a huge part of our business as grain farmers, I was really hoping to see a higher turnout,” said Ernie Sirski, a losing candidate in District 9.
The total votes cast in the five districts was 11,402, representing a return rate of 41.3 percent of the ballots distributed. That’s down from 51.5 percent in the last election in odd-numbered districts.
There is no change in the balance of power in the elected board of directors, with eight single desk supporters and two who favour an end to the single desk.
The vote in District 1 was close, with a margin of 31 votes between incumbent winner Vos and challenger Dan Gauthier. Vos’s election kept the vote from being a sweep for single desk supporters.
“These results send a clear message to the federal government that its ideological quest to end the single desk is against farmers’ wishes,” said Korneychuk, who won re-election in District 7.
However several winning candidates emphasized they don’t consider it to be a vote for the status quo.
“We certainly heard the message that there are things we can do better,” said CWB chair Allen Oberg, who won re-election easily in District 5.
Topping that list is getting CWB payments into the hand of farmers more quickly, with less involvement by the federal government, he said.
The National Farmers Union called it a victory for farmers, noting that it marks the seventh consecutive CWB election since they began in 1998 in which single desk supporters won 80 percent of the seats up for grabs.
“The wishes of farmers are crystal clear and it is now time for the federal government to start doing three things on behalf of prairie producers,” said NFU president Terry Boehm.
He said the government should remove the order that prevents the CWB from speaking on single desk vs. open market issues, it should leave the voters list unchanged and it should stand up for the CWB at international trade talks.
Blair Rutter of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association said the low voter response indicates that farmers see the election as flawed, especially when it comes to who has the right to vote.
He said the association, which favours an end to the single desk, thought two or three like-minded candidates might come away with a victory.
“So yes, we’re disappointed,” he said, adding demographics are on the wheat growers’ side, with young farmers more in favour of change.
“Eventually these elections will go our way.”
