Border carbon adjustments (BCAs) look to level the playing field for carbon pr icing across nations and remove any “out” for industries trying to avoid paying for pollution. | Getty Images

Prospective pollution policy aims to curb ‘carbon leakage’

Border carbon adjustments are coming to Canada; it is just a matter of when. Ten days before calling the election, the Liberal government announced consultations would officially begin on border carbon adjustments or BCAs. A policy paper detailing the policy was included. BCAs aim to reduce the so-called “carbon leakage” occurring when a company leaves […] Read more

Taking place just days after the conclusion of the federal election, there were no official statements or commitments from Canada. | Screencap via un.org

Election muted Canada’s UN food ambition

Timing of UN Food Summit and Canadian federal election conflicted leaving sparse national representation at global event

Canada’s participation at the United Nations Food Systems Summit was muted. Taking place just days after the conclusion of the federal election, there were no official statements or commitments from Canada. The summit was designed to foster dialogue on how nations can create more sustainable food systems. Voters cast ballots on Sept. 20, days before […] Read more

The OCN Smart Farm is located in the Veterans Hall of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation near The Pas, Man. | Stephanie Cook photo

First Nations farm focuses on health

Stephanie Cook planned on a career in family services. She never imagined that would lead to operation of a vertical farm that helps feed her northern Manitoba community. As a member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) near The Pas, 600 kilometres north of Winnipeg, Cook grew up surrounded by the impacts of colonization and the […] Read more


Indigenous farm growth bucks national trend

Indigenous farm growth bucks national trend

The 2016 Census of Agriculture found a higher proportion of women producing food than in non-Aboriginal populations

Aboriginal agricultural is becoming a growing trend, according to Statistics Canada in its analysis of the 2016 Census of Agriculture. By cross-referencing farm-level data from that census to numbers in the Census of Population, the federal agency produced its first portrait of Aboriginal peoples and agriculture. It found they represented one of the few agricultural […] Read more

Resolutions that come out of the United Nations Food Systems 
Summit will have to be backed up by concrete initiatives. | Reuters/Stephane Mahe photo

Ambitious food security targets will need tangible action

Canada’s official strategy heading into the United Nations Food Systems Summit is to present bold, if abstract, vision statements. Beginning Sept. 23, the virtually held conference is steeped in anticipation: for more than a year, conferences around the world have taken place focusing on “bold new actions” to create a healthy and sustainable global food […] Read more


A relatively strong handling of the pandemic helped bolster Trudeau’s fortunes, leading to the current Liberal gamble that he had built enough political capital to once again reach majority status. | Reuters photo

Liberals’ once promising prospects appear to be dwindling

As another federal election winds down, it’s discouraging to see so many Canadians once again disgruntled with their options, but I can’t blame them. Leading into this election, the governing Liberals had spent much of the political capital they earned following their 2015 victory. Optimism over electoral reform and climate change action, for example, was […] Read more

The Sept. 9 debate, hosted by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, had plenty of discussion about climate change and how best to support producers in a changing environment. | Screencap via YouTube/Canadian Federation of Agriculture

Support for farmers focus of ag debate

An agricultural debate ahead of the federal election gave representatives from political parties an opportunity to pitch their ideas to producers, resulting in debate over how best to support farmers. The Sept. 9 debate, hosted by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, had plenty of discussion about climate change and how best to support producers in […] Read more

Farmers might want to ask themselves, what has the Conservative party done for them lately? On issues such as carbon pricing, the Conservatives now support the policy and any continued farmer opposition will fall on sympathetic, but mostly deaf, ears. | File photo

Producers urged to question their devotion to Conservatives

Producers on the Prairies are expected to once again support the Conservative Party of Canada . Polling suggests the Conservative vote share could be on the rise, and there is a chance the party sweeps all the seats in Saskatchewan again, this time with a higher share of the vote than in 2019. We’ve seen […] Read more


The most intriguing question in this election might be how the parties decide to frame discussion around the next Agricultural Policy Framework. | Jeannette Greaves photo

Platforms reveal few major differences on ag

Election ’21: The political parties are divided more on cultural issues such as gun control than they are on policy files

As is the case with modern day elections, agriculture is not expected to feature heavily in the political debates being had in advance of Canada’s upcoming vote. Since taking office in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate to farmers his version of the Liberal party can be one that […] Read more

There is a general acceptance among political watchers that Conservatives understand the needs and wants of rural Canada better than their Liberal counterparts. | File photo

Election platforms reveal few ag differences

As is the case with modern day elections, agriculture is not expected to feature heavily in the political debates being had in advance of Canada’s upcoming vote. Since taking office in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate to farmers his version of the Liberal party can be one that […] Read more