Grain Growers of Canada president and Alberta farmer Stephen Vandervalk was getting off a seeder late May 2 when he absorbed the results of the federal election.
Conservatives with a strong base in rural Canada had won a majority government.
“I think this will be good for farmers,” he said.
“The Conservatives believe in science- based rules and they are pushing a trade agenda. I think they will have an agenda that is good for farmers.”
But the farm group will be in Ottawa shortly after the election pushing the newly elected Conservatives to commit more money to an issue they do not think Conservatives have been strong on – research and science.
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“This is an area that recent governments really have neglected so we will be pressing the government to look at that issue and to put more resources into it,” he said.
“There is a wide understanding among farmers that only research will give us the competitive edge we need.”
For Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett, the election of a majority government signaled a potential for a move from the partisan bickering that has dominated the House of Commons and the agriculture committee for several years.
“The minority just seemed to make everything a partisan issue,” he said in a May 2 interview when the results were clear.
“I think there is some clarity now in that there is a majority government and some stability for the next four years.”
Re-elected Saskatchewan MP Gerry Ritz is a strong contender to be reappointed agriculture minister and his priorities have been clear.
He will continue to pursue free trade deals, invest more money in food inspection and re-start negotiations with provinces over the next generation of farm programs.
“All parties talked about the need for a national food strategy and we will continue to press them on that,” said Bonnett.
“I think this new Parliament will be a chance for us to work together with MPs on issues that need not be caught up in partisan divisions.”
But there is one divisive issue that Grain Growers’ president Vandervalk expects the Conservatives to act on, based on a campaign promise.
“I really expect them to move on the Canadian Wheat Board issue,” he said. GGC has been a supporter of an end to the CWB wheat and barley monopoly.
