Manitoba Conservative MP James Bezan (l) and ag and trade critics Luc Berthold and Randy Hoback (centre) meet with farm and canola sector representatives including Keystone Agricultural Producers president Bill Campbell (right) and canola grower Brian Chorney (second from left) on April 24, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Canada promises farm aid amid China canola spat

Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said Ottawa would soon announce help for canola farmers hurt by a China ban on imports of the oilseed but brushed off calls to pull funding for a Chinese-led investment bank. China and Canada are locked in a diplomatic and trade dispute that has […] Read more

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, shown here visiting Cigi in Winnipeg on March 13, said a third unnamed canola exporter has run afoul of Chinese customs officials. (Dave Bedard photo)

Third canola exporter runs into trouble in China

Ottawa | Reuters –– Chinese authorities have filed a quality complaint against a third Canadian exporter of canola, Canada’s agriculture minister said on Tuesday, potentially deepening a trade and diplomatic dispute between Beijing and Ottawa. Early last month, China cited the discovery of pests as the reason for blocking shipments of canola seed from Richardson […] Read more




(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Alberta to buy rail cars for oil

Ottawa | Reuters — The Alberta government is in talks to buy rail cars to transport 120,000 barrels per day of crude oil and expects a deal to conclude within weeks, Premier Rachel Notley said Wednesday, as the province takes actions to move oil stuck in the region because of a lack of pipeline capacity. […] Read more



Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at a press conference June 9, 2018 at the G7 summit in Charlevoix, Que. (G7.gc.ca via Flickr)

Trudeau vows to impose carbon tax, opponents push back

Ottawa | Reuters – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said he would fulfill a promise to impose a carbon tax on provinces unwilling to combat climate change, prompting instant protests from a voter-rich part of the country. Trudeau, whose ruling Liberals face an election in October 2019, told a news conference that all the money […] Read more

Dairy cattle in Canada. (Pearman314/iStock/Getty Images)

Dairy farmers unhappy after meeting Trudeau on USMCA

Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian dairy farmers met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday to discuss his politically-risky move to open up the protected domestic market to U.S. industry but complained he had not given them details about compensation. As part of the talks to complete the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal, Canada […] Read more