It’s on. Canada’s dairy industry has officially caught U.S. President Donald Trump’s attention. The American president vowed to “stand up for our Wisconsin dairy farmers” during a speech in the milk-rich state April 18. “Because in Canada some very unfair things have happened to our dairy farmers and others and we’re going to start working […] Read more
Stories by Kelsey Johnson
Canada continues to push for trade agreement with Japan
Ottawa wants a trade deal with Japan. In testimony to the House of Commons international affairs committee, International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he has reached out to Tokyo asking Japanese officials to consider talks. “I have already offered to our Japanese colleagues that I would be much interested if they wanted to start again […] Read more
NAFTA negotiations up in the air as U.S. focus drifts
Keep calm and carry on. That’s the key message Ottawa wants people to follow ahead of the pending renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. United States President Donald Trump hasn’t minced words when it comes to the 1994 trade deal between Canada, Mexico and the U.S. He repeatedly called it the “worst trade […] Read more
Senate focuses on how climate change affects farmers
Canadian senators have been tasked with figuring out how climate change — and federal policies around combating it— are affecting the country’s agriculture industry. The Senate agriculture committee has until June 30, 2018, to wrap up its investigation, during which time it will hear from farm groups, researchers, officials and others. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Cereals […] Read more
Liberals embark on plan to boost agricultural industry
Ottawa’s desire to lean on the country’s agriculture industry to spur economic growth is big news for the sector, despite concerns around labour, funding and infrastructure gaps, farm groups say. “That’s a big target, but I think we’re up to it,” Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett said post-budget. He added that because the […] Read more
World leaders grapple with changing trade environment
What to do with the Trans-Pacific Partnership? That was the question world trade ministers were left to wrestle with earlier this month as officials from 12 TPP countries met in Chile to sort out what to do now that the United States had formally withdrawn. Japan, a key market for Canada in the deal, wants […] Read more
CDN budget: Ag-food value added, research, inspection, transport analysis
Canada’s agriculture industry is front and centre in Ottawa’s plan to grow the economy after years of flying under the federal government – and the public’s – radar. Ottawa has challenged farmers and processors to grow their agri-food exports to $75 billion annually by 2025. Current exports hover around $50 billion annually. Wednesday’s federal budget […] Read more
Government’s transportation reform remains up in the air
Three years ago federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt held a joint press conference in Parliament’s main foyer. The date was March 26. The matter at hand? Millions of tonnes of prairie grain were stranded in fields and bins across Western Canada — a logistics nightmare that resulted in a serious cash […] Read more
Will budget see promises kept on ag investment, farm taxes?
It’s budget season in Ottawa — a time when office pools guessing the date of the Big Day are in full swing and folks are drafting up their potential Budget 2017 wish lists. Finance Minister Bill Morneau hasn’t said when the budget will be unveiled, although a glance at the parliamentary calendar would suggest March 21 […] Read more
Conservative MPs in hot seat over views on supply management
The United States will demand access to Canada’s dairy in-dustry during a pending renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier told delegates at the annual Manning Centre conference in Ottawa Feb. 24. “And that’s a good thing,” Bernier told his fellow leadership candidates, insisting 90 percent of Canadian farmers […] Read more
