As we put 2025 behind us, it’s time to start thinking about the year ahead.
What might we expect? What would we like to see?
As this space concluded in mid-December, the year just past was a tumultuous one, and there is no indication that 2026 will be much quieter, at least when it comes to Canada’s relationship with the United States.
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As U.S. president Donald Trump begins the second year of his second term, no one knows for sure what he will have in store for us, but the smart money is likely on nothing good.
It would be fair to guess that erratic tariff threats will continue, dependent on the president’s whims and sense of personal grievance.
Canada has become familiar with this turbulence, but what will be different in 2026 is the upcoming review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.
This trade deal, signed by Trump in his first term, has so far saved most of Canadian exports from the tariff chaos, including all agricultural commodities.
However, what Trump once called “terrific” is now seen as something that requires a massive rewrite. The dispute settlement mechanism appears to be a particular bone of contention, and supply management will quite likely be a top target.
Canada should expect a significantly challenging time during the legally mandated review required by the agreement.
We fervently hope that the country can stand together during this time and ignore the temptation to focus only on regional priorities rather than what is best for the whole.
Farmers will need to watch the situation closely as the year unfolds.
It’s more than possible that they can expect a much quieter time on the domestic front this year.
Farmers are still facing a Liberal government, which for many of them is not their preferred choice, but it must be acknowledged that it is a significantly different animal from the previous Liberal government.
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s insistence that all issues, including agriculture, be managed through an environmental and climate lens, appears to have been abandoned, or at least set aside for now.
It was this all-consuming focus that was partly to blame for the rocky relationship between farmers and Trudeau’s government.
Federal interest in environmental issues, such as those over targeted reductions in fertilizer emissions, appear to be fading from the national stage.
While this departure will not be welcome by those who continue to believe in the dangers of climate change and the need to take action, it could certainly go a long way toward smoothing the waters of the federal government’s relationship with farmers.
Time will tell.
Farmers do have their own wish list for the upcoming year:
- A permanently increased interest free threshold for the Advance Payments Program.
- Concrete resolution to labour disruptions in the food supply chain.
- Protection of farmland through Agricultural Impact Assessments.
- Modernization of the Canadian Grain Act.
- Appropriately prioritizing agriculture in infrastructure spending and red tape reduction.
- Enhancements to business risk management programs.
- Stronger support for domestic food production.
- National strategy to address chronic labour shortages in agriculture.
It also is high time that the federal government clear the air on drone spraying regulations.
Oh, and wouldn’t it be nice if growing conditions were ideal this year and commodity prices improve.
There’s nothing wrong, after all, with wishing big.
Karen Briere, Bruce Dyck, Robin Booker, Paul Yanko and Laura Rance collaborate in the writing of Western Producer editorials.
