While there’s more to be done, Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe says he’s hopeful trade relations with China can be mended.
“I’ll give credit to prime minister Carney for the engagement that he has undertaken,” Moe said in an interview at the recent Ag in Motion farm show near Saskatoon.
“Far be it for me to say a number of nice things about a Liberal prime minister over the course of the last decade,” he added.
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In March, China levied 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian canola oil and meal and peas, and 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian pork and seafood.
This is a big concern for export-oriented, crop giant Saskatchewan. When provincial agriculture minister Daryl Harrison was asked what kept him awake at night, China’s tariffs were the first thing he mentioned.
Moe hopes that broader engagement with China will also result in the Asian giant dropping its anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola seed exports.
He said the Carney government has been engaging with China, as he’d hoped and asked for.
Carney spoke with Chinese premier Li Qiang on June 5, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. Foreign affairs minister Anita Anand spoke with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Li, while in Malaysia in early July. Moe referenced other work through Global Affairs Canada and various ministers.
He said he hoped to soon see a meeting between Carney and Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Moe said Canada must engage with China differently than it might with the United States or European Union.
“It has to be a nation-to-nation discussion,” he said.
“It’ is broader than just canola, as this is a reaction to us aligning with the U.S. on steel and EV policy and aluminum policy.”
He said Canadian officials may need to make multiple trips to China — even uninvited — to demonstrate they’re willing to engage.
Moe has had discussions with the prime minister about how Saskatchewan can support the federal government in reaching out to China, which is Saskatchewan’s second biggest trade partner behind the U.S.
Saskatchewan is also taking an active role in promoting trade.
“We have nine trade offices around the world, and they’re fully, fully engaged in the areas they serve,” said Harrison.
“They’re able to tell our story better than anybody else can on Saskatchewan’s behalf.”
He said it will be important for Saskatchewan to reach out to new international trading partners.
“We currently trade ag commodities from Saskatchewan in 137 different countries, and we’re always looking to grow that … but also mindful that our big markets, the U.S., China and India … are important as well,” he said.
“You can’t just replace markets like that overnight, but you’ve always got to keep reaching out to those countries that are, you know, maybe small players now, but there’s potential to grow markets, and that’s what our trade offices do.”
As international trading relationships strain, federal and provincial governments have also looked to options for lifting barriers to interprovincial trade.
“You wouldn’t think that interprovincial trade should be that much of an issue,” Harrison said.
“But, you know, it seems to, and we have to get that resolved.”
He said Saskatchewan’s experience with interprovincial trade could set the tone for the rest of the country. He pointed to the New West Partnership Trade Agreement, signed in 2010 to create a barrier-free interprovincial market for Canada’s western provinces.
Farm shows such as Ag in Motion also have a part to play in drawing international trade, officials said.
Sara Wilshaw, Canada’s chief trade commissioner, said the July 15-17 show was one-of-a-kind venue to introduce international buyers to Canadian farm equipment and the companies that make and sell it.
Wilshaw toured the site and spoke with equipment manufacturers. She is responsible for helping Canadian businesses secure and explore international markets, find new customers and partners and increase Canadian exports.
She said that buyers she met at the event welcomed the opportunity to escape the meeting room, observe equipment in the field and touch and test it.
“The feedback I’ve gotten has been so positive,” she said.
Harrison noted the international visitors at AIM and said Saskatchewan’s trade representatives in other countries played a part in engaging people and getting them to visit the province.
“They can come tour Ag in Motion. They can do some field tours,” he said.
“They can see some of our value-added processing, our manufacturing, all that goes hand in hand.”
They can also visit research sites such as the Livestock Centre of Excellence, he added.
—With files from Sean Pratt, Jonah Grignon and Gord Gilmour
