OWEN SOUND, Ont. – When Wiarton, Ont., cattle producer Larry Miller became one of the first wave of rural Ontario Conservative members of Parliament elected in 2004, he was assigned a mentor.
Rick Casson, the genial MP from Lethbridge and seven-year veteran of the House of Commons, became Miller’s guide to the ways of Parliament Hill.
It was an appropriate choice. Casson represented the largest cattle producing riding in the country.
Miller’s Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound is the second biggest and coming from cattle country has marked the way he has carved out his political career. He is a blunt straight talker who has become a leader of the rural side of the Conservative government and chair of the government rural caucus and the Commons agriculture committee.
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His description of issues often is replete with references to how his producers describe the world.
In a recent interview, Miller was listing the issues in his huge riding: health care and seniors issues rate highly because many retired city residents move to his riding for the beauty of the Georgian Bay; agricultural profitability; energy issues; and the cost of living.
“Input costs are a huge issue here for farmers,” said Miller.
“One cattle guy explained it this way. ‘Every time I fill up my truck, it’s two calves into the tank.’ I get it.”
This sprawling area at the north end of southwestern Ontario is one of the largest agricultural areas in Canada’s largest farm economy.
In the counties of Bruce and Grey, where agriculture is diversified but beef dominates, there are almost 2,000 cattle operations and farmgate receipts of $600 million.
The agricultural debate is key to electoral prospects and this election Liberal candidates are promoting their party as the best bet for farmers. They advocate a platform that promises support for farmers’ markets, a revision of farm policy based on advice from farmers and federal dollars to support Ontario’s cost-ofproduction based Risk Management insurance program.
Charlie Bagnato, a Walkerton, Ont., activist and civil servant, local mayor and 2008 recipient of the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture’s award of merit for advocating agriculture, is the Liberal hopeful in Huron-Bruce riding, the last rural Ontario seat held by the Liberals until it went Conservative in 2008.
He said part of the problem for the party in that election was the unpopularity of the Liberal carbon tax proposal and party leader Stéphane Dion. He vows this campaign will be much closer.
“Agriculture is our number one industry and I think farmers will find our rural focus appealing,” he said in his Walkerton campaign office.
“Farmers need help with cost-ofproduction and we are promising to help them through the (risk management program). The Conservatives refuse.”
Ben Lobb, the Conservative who won the seat last time by almost 5,000 votes, said his record since winning the election will help, as will the Conser vative history of representing rural issues in Ottawa.
He acknowledged that farm voters will question why the Conservatives have refused to commit federal dollars to the province’s popular risk management program.
“To be honest, it will be an issue but my argument is that the federal government cannot do this as a one-off with Ontario because the other nine provinces do not support it and our system requires federal and provincial agreement,” he said.
“If Ottawa got involved, there would be a real danger of (trade retaliation) and losing export markets. Our record is to open up markets for our producers so they can get their money from the marketplace.”
In the next-door riding, Miller is typically more blunt.
“If the Liberals are saying they will put federal money into a provincial program like that, they are lying through their teeth,” he said.
“They can’t do it. The rules that the Liberals themselves negotiated is that it needs Ottawa and a majority of provinces to change the rules and no other province wants this type of program.”
He noted that both Quebec and Alberta have provided provincial subsidies to their cattle industries using only provincial dollars. This is an irritant for Ontario producers, he said.
“But we can’t stop the provinces from supporting their own people,” said Miller. “Quebec and Alberta did it and didn’t ask for Ottawa’s help. Ontario can do the same thing.”
