The caucus meeting identified nine changes to boost the national economy to be advocated to Prime Minister Mark Carney, with some including gaining full access to energy corridors across the nation, repealing Bill C-69, lifting the tanker ban off the B.C. coast, eliminating the oil and gas emissions cap, scrapping net zero regulations, ending the designation of plastics as toxic and returning the oversight of carbon taxes to the provinces.

‘Ottawa should stop interfering’

“We are here today as a united caucus because we have decided enough is enough. Development of provincial resources is a provincial responsibility and that includes the development of our transmission and electricity grids,” said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at the follow-up press conference.

“Ottawa should stop interfering because we believe Alberta and Saskatchewan have an opportunity to speak with one voice outlining the vision for our country, and we can call for a country that works for all of us.”

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe brought up Bill C-5 as proof of the need to legislate around current cumbersome regulatory processes.

“It’s an admission this hard work does have to happen. We have been supportive in prioritizing projects in the short term, which is really a stop gap to fixing the entirety of the regulatory process that we have in Canada, so that all projects can move forward,” said Moe.

Need for port-to-port corridor

“In Saskatchewan we don’t have one, or two or three projects that are a priority, we have literally in excess of 100 projects.”

The premiers echoed the importance of a port-to-port corridor connecting Western Canada to Hudson Bay for accessing Asian and European markets, which would benefit both provinces by increasing oil prices, freeing up rail capacity and enhancing egress to the U.S. The initiative aims to create long-term wealth for centuries, and strategic advantages for Canada.

“That opportunity has to be for all products,” said Moe.

Improving access with the national corridor would free up rail capacity for agri-food products, including potash, for Alberta and Saskatchewan. Approximately 94 per cent of Canada’s grain exports are transported by rail, with 75 per cent of the fertilizer produced and used in Canada moved by rail.

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That way farms should be more profitable and then also be ready if carbon documentation is required into the future, says Bryan Sanderson, Alltech’s U.S. beef business manager.

Why it matters: Beef cattle have record value. Efficiency investments will help producers get more of that money, but will also lower carbon impact.

Sanderson spoke at the annual Pasture Walk and Talk hosted by Brussels Agri Services on June 5.

“I feel like carbon is an opportunity. I don’t think this environmental piece is going to go away,” he said to more than 300 people assembled at the farm of Tim Prior, owner of Brussels Agri Services. Rain held off in the evening allowing six bale wagons full of people to tour across the farm stopping at nutrition, cattle handling, fencing — both physical and virtual — and forage seed stations around the farm.

Prior’s farm is home to a herd of Wagyu cattle grazed rotationally and is a showcase for the grazing products that are sold by the company. A damp, cool spring made for green pastures and fit cattle on the farm.

In a drive shed at the front of the farm Sanderson kicked off the evening by reminding producers about the incredible value coming into livestock production.

“What a heck of a time to be in the cattle business, especially if you’re one that has something to sell. Record high fed cattle, feeder cattle, cull cows, bulls, man, it’s been an awesome ride, hasn’t it?”’

Beef cattle prices have reached record levels and are sustaining those levels as the cow herd in North America continues to decline, meaning fewer cattle coming to market.

Sanderson says his day work, which takes him around the world for Alltech, supports his cattle “disease” involvement in the production side of the industry.

When cattle are worth so much money, it makes sense to be as efficient as possible, especially around reducing calf mortality. Many of the on-farm improvements that increase farm efficiency — lower calf mortality, feed efficiency, better pasture management and rotational grazing — also reduce the amount of carbon required to produce a unit of beef.

Over time, farmers may have to prove carbon reduction. So starting now and recording the steps taken can be valuable, in addition to the improvement in farm efficiency, says Sanderson.

He doesn’t expect carbon markets to pay out for farmers.

He says that Alltech is working with the Archbold Biological Station on the Buck Island Research Alliance in Florida where they have a herd of 2,500 cows. Early research results are showing that pasture that’s grazed is a carbon sink, but pasture that’s sitting idle is a net emitter.

“We need cows to keep the grass growing,” he says. “The average people need to understand that and they’re doing a pretty good job of putting that science together.”

Every year is different for cattle producers and there’s heavy impact on their operations from environmental conditions.

“Feed stuffs are different, genetics are different, cattle are different. Weather obviously affects production.”

That means proving efficiency improvements can be challenging as conditions are not static.

“I think it’s going to come down to records,” he says, encouraging farmers to find a record-keeping system that works for them.

“The records are really going to help you, or should help you make better business decisions.”

With better decision-making data, look at expenses as investments. With good records, those investments can be better evaluated.

The data will be able to prove improvement to outside sources if needed. Sanderson says environmental requirements might take a back-step blip in the four years of the current Trump government, but longer term, he expects them to continue.

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“Farmers are being squeezed from seemingly all sides at once with inflation and tariffs from both the US and China. The long-awaited removal of the carbon tax will provide farmers a bit of relief from this pressure and can be seen as recognition for the difficult place Canadian farmers and consumers find themselves in today,” said CFA president Keith Currie in a news release.

On Friday, new Prime Minister Mark Carney said the consumer carbon price would be canceled, effective April 1. This will set “the applicable fuel charge rates for all types of fuel and combustible waste to zero,” according to the text of the order in council.

The federal carbon pricing system has two parts: the charge on fuels and a system for industrial emitters, as per the government’s website.

The CFA said that, based on estimates in 2023 from the Parliamentary Budget Office, farmers would save over $100 million a year with the removal of the consumer carbon levy.

The CFA has long lobbied for exemptions from the carbon pricing system for farmers. Gasoline and diesel for farm use were exempted from the levy. Farm businesses may also apply to receive a refundable tax credit on eligible fuel charges, as per the federal government’s website.

Efforts by farm organizations to have propane and natural gas for heating and grain drying exempted stalled in late 2023.

“The signing of this order-in-council is a reassuring step in the right direction, but we need to see Parliament reconvene and provide a long-term solution that removes the consumer carbon price from legislation and ensures farms of all sizes are exempt from the carbon price,” said Currie.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the Government of Canada to ensure future environmental policies enable long-term sustainable productivity growth and the competitiveness of Canadian agriculture.”

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Just hours after he and his cabinet were sworn in March 14 and held their first meeting, he made good on his election promise to cut the price on pollution.

“This is a cabinet focused on action. It’s focused on getting more money in the pockets of Canadians,” he said.

“Based on the discussion we’ve had and consistent with the promise I made and others supported during the leadership campaign, we will be eliminating the consumer fuel charge immediately and we will be ensuring that those Canadians who have received rebates will continue to receive rebates in the next quarter.”

Those rebates are due to arrive before the end of April.

Carney said this will help Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet. But he also said it is part of a much bigger set of measures the government will take to “ensure we fight against climate change, that our companies are competitive and the country moves forward.”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation noted the tax is currently 17 cents per litre of gasoline, 21 cents per litre of diesel and 15 cents per cubic metre of natural gas, and that the Parliamentary Budget Officer found it cost the average family $399 more than the rebates they received.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said Carney is only pausing the tax until after the election.

“He’s flip-flopping on his beliefs to trick Canadians into a fourth Liberal government,” he said on social media.

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Carney’s victory was certified Sunday evening, as the former Bank of Canada governor took 85 per cent of the vote among Liberals. His campaign was launched following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement he would resign in early January. Trudeau said he would hold the position until the party chose a new leader.

Different priorities for agriculture?

This change in leadership could mean different priorities for agriculture, even from a few months ago.

“At the big level, clearly it’s changed a lot,” said Tyler McCann, Managing Director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute.

“We’ve seen the Liberal Party up in the polls. We’ve seen a new leader bring new life into it,” McCann said, “but it’s not clear to me what that means from an agriculture perspective. Again, I think we expect to see … agriculture will still be a minor issue.”

Carney has pledged to “immediately remove” the consumer carbon tax in his climate plan, though may not be as tough on the overall carbon tax as the Poilievre-led Conservative Party.

“When I see that some things that’s not working, I will change it,” said Carney in his acceptance speech Sunday evening, “so my government will immediately eliminate the divisive consumer carbon tax on families and farmers.”

No longer a ‘carbon tax election’?

Canadian farmers and agriculture group leaders have indicated the price on carbon as one of their primary concerns ahead of the 2025 federal election.

McCann said this move changes the dynamic of an election that was expected to revolve around carbon pricing: “this is now a Trump or tariff election,” McCann said.

“The policy differences between the Conservatives and the Liberals on carbon and sustainability issues, certainly when it comes to the consumer carbon tax, have narrowed. Carney and Poilievre have effectively the same position.”

McCann said this shift in policy may reveal broader issues in the campaign.

“I think that that will take the issue off the agenda so to speak for many farmers, but I do think it highlights, in my mind, the big issue of the campaign, and that is: do people think that Liberals have changed?”

Stance on tariffs

Carney has also taken a hardline stance against U.S. tariffs, saying in a statement he would support dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs and diversifying Canada’s trade relationships with partners other than the U.S.

“There’s someone who’s trying to weaken our economy,” Carney said. “Yep. Donald Trump.”

“The Canadian government has rightly retaliated and has rightly retaliated with our own tariffs that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact here in Canada.”

“The government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us and until they can join us in making credible and reliable commitments to free and fair trade,” Carney added.

McCann said tariffs could be the one issue to push agriculture more to the forefront this election cycle, though he was doubtful of how much the message of diversifying trade will resonate.

“I think you need to go a step further, he said. “Are you going to address the potential for labour disruption through changes to the Canada Labor Code? That is something agriculture would need to see.”

“Are you going to invest significantly in trade enabling infrastructure, and are you going to put the efforts, the political and technical resources into resolving market access barriers?”

Carney’s new tenure as Prime Minister will likely be short, as Canadians can expect a federal election called within the next few weeks

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Canadians will be at the polls no later than Oct. 20. With recent news of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation, it could be significantly sooner than that.

Why it matters: Carbon pricing, recent labour stoppages and international trade top Canadian agriculture’s interests going into the next election cycle.

Tyler McCann, managing director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI), says farmers should manage their expectations on how deeply agriculture will feature.

“I think a lot of people have high hopes for what gets into a platform, and I think that people should go back and look what’s been in past ones and mitigate their expectations for the sector,” he said.

“If there are references to agriculture and food, they’re part of a broader campaign message and direction.”

Agriculture is often an afterthought for the Liberals, he noted, while Conservative policy implications are not always clear either for agriculture.

“If you get into things like … the push to fix the budget and some of the other things that (Conservative leader Pierre) Poilievre is pushing for, what does that actually mean in agriculture context? I don’t know,” he said.

Carbon pricing

Federal carbon pricing is among the top current concerns for Canadian producers, with agriculture citing a lack of green alternatives. It’s also become a main talking point for the opposition Conservatives.

Kyle Larkin, executive director of the Grain Growers of Canada, called it the “number one” issue for Canadian grain farmers.

“Individual grain farmers are paying tens of thousands of dollars on a yearly basis because they’re using natural gas and propane to dry their grain, which is an essential process,” he said.

A carbon price exemption for those fuels is the subject of a private members bill that initially passed the House of Commons, but became mired in the Senate in 2023 and, as of the recent prorogation of Parliament, was back lingering before the House in an amended form.

Canadian Federation of Agriculture President Keith Currie said producers aren’t opposed to doing their public duty by using more eco-friendly methods, but they have been left with no viable alternatives.

“The purpose of the carbon tax was to change habits to a cleaner economy,” Currie said, “But in agriculture, what are our options if we can’t use fossil-based fuels for heating our homes and our livestock facilities, our shops and for powering our equipment and running our grain dryers?” Currie said.

“We’re being penalized… unfairly, without the opportunity to change our habits, because there’s nothing to change to.”

Currie added that industry needs “to have an understanding on how a government, you know, after the next election in particular, is going to handle the border carbon adjustments that are coming down the road for agriculture,” he said.

Capital gains

Several industry stakeholders pointed to changes to the capital gains tax.

Larkin called it the second priority for the industry.

“The Liberals have been very clear that they’re going to keep forging ahead on that,” he said. “The Conservatives have said that they’re going to do a whole review of the tax system, which will include stakeholders like farmers.

“We’re looking forward to getting involved in a process like that because, for us, it’s not just the capital gains tax, it’s the whole suite of taxation that impacts farmers.

He also argued that “97, 98 per cent of our operations are family-owned and operated. That capital gains piece is really key to helping with that succession planning and that transition into the next generation of farmers.

“The other aspect of taxing is a capital cost allowance, and we’re asking for that 100 per cent exemption on the first year for farmers.”

Labour

Agricultural concern over labour issues comes in two flavours: the lack of it, and the disruptive nature of strikes and lockouts.

A string of disputes ranging from meat processing to railways and ports all concerned industry in 2024.

“I think we often think about it in the context of Western grain farmers, but it’s not just that,” McCann said. “It is kind of any part of the sector that relies on transportation to move food, which is really everybody.”

He said labour is one area where agriculture often feels the impacts of larger changes.

Larkin said the next government must address labour issues as soon as possible.

“In no way can Canada continue having major labour disruptions, especially at our railways or at our ports on a monthly or yearly basis,” he said. “That’s what grain farmers have been experiencing.”

“We’ve had nine stoppages in the last six years,” Currie added.

Recent threats to the Temporary Foreign Worker program also have some groups concerned.

Lauren Kennedy, director of public affairs for the Chicken Farmers of Canada, said a reduction of labour in processing could have negative downstream effects on producers.

Rail rules

Interswitching, which allows one railway to operate on another railway’s track for a set distance, is another concern, especially for Western Canadian farmers.

Prairie grain growers are the primary farm stakeholders there, with the two major railways having little overlap. Farm groups argue that leaves their members as captive customers.

“What we’re looking for during the election is a commitment on a permanent, extended interswitching,” Larkin said.

He also hopes to see it expanded to 500 kilometers, “so we capture all grain farmers across the Prairies and also expanded to British Columbia.”

Currie said the CFA is looking for an extension to the 18-month interswitching pilot, which was greenlit in 2023.

“We’d like to see that program extended into maybe a three-year or beyond program,” he said.

Sustainability recognition

Several sources said they would like to see parties recognize the sustainability efforts of the Canadian ag sector.

Larkin referred to Canadian grain farmers as “the most sustainable in the world.”

“We need to recognize them for the advancements that they’ve made through zero-till and through cover cropping and through other means.

“Right now, they’re not necessarily being compensated or even spoken about in a positive light,” he said. “So I think that’s a big thing we’re looking for the election is, let’s start talking the good story that already exists.”

Kennedy also said she would like broader recognition for the positive changes made by Canadian chicken farmers. She said legislation like Bill C-59, which would bring broader greenwashing claim consequences, has the potential to hinder that.

Supply management and trade

The outcome of the recent U.S. election has fast-tracked several issues to the forefront in Canadian politics, particularly relating to trade.

President-elect Donald Trump has threatened Canada with 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs. He has previously said he will renegotiate the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

This could have major consequences for Canadian producers.

“We’re already in a difficult situation,” Larkin said. “The last thing we need is another trade irritant, especially for our largest trading partners.”

McCann said Trump’s approach to the CUSMA renegotiation will set the stage for ag policy decisions over the next two years.

He added that this would create a dynamic where Canadian producers are not able to set their own course; “instead, we’re either reacting or dealing with the transactional issues that are in front of the sector.”

In the chicken sector, Kennedy said continued support for supply management is the most important thing.

Biosecurity

Animal diseases like African swine fever and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) are among the current disease worries for livestock producers

Kennedy said chicken farmers don’t have enough access to antimicrobials or alternatives like feed additives.

“We continue to advocate to the federal government, and again, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, just in terms of reducing those administrative fees and cost of entry fees,” she said.

She added that biosecurity and the threat of outbreaks are issues governments should be taking more seriously.

“We just look to the government to continue to invest in CFIA resources when it comes to animal disease outbreaks so that we have that support when need be,” she said.

Broader Issues

Other main campaign issues could spill over to affect producers.

“A lot of our issues aren’t housing, they’re not health care, they’re not kind of that top three or top four up there,” Larkin said. “But a lot of them, when you dig down into them, there are impacts on grain farmers.

“Canada’s economy and profitability, those are issues that grain farmers are dealing (with) on a daily basis.”

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The Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses was announced in this year’s federal budget, and while details are still scant, it will return a portion of the price on pollution through a refundable tax credit.

The Canada Revenue Agency estimated the retroactive payments total $2.5 billion, beginning in the 2019-20 fuel charge year until the 2023-24 year.

A spokesperson said the payment amounts and when they will be made are still undetermined, but it’s critical that taxes be filed on time to qualify.

Technically, those taxes had to be filed June 30, but Ottawa implemented a two-week extension.

CRA said the rebate will equal the number of people employed by the eligible “Canadian-controlled private corporations” multiplied by the payment rate. The employees must have received T-4s.

To be eligible, the business must have employed at least one person in a designated province in the calendar year, had 499 or fewer employees throughout Canada and filed its taxes.

There is no application for the rebate; it will automatically be calculated and issued.

The designated provinces include Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario for all fuel charge years, Alberta for 2020-21 and beyond and the four Atlantic provinces for 2023-24.

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A tax was first proposed in February by government-commissioned experts to help Denmark reach a legally binding 2030 target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent from 1990 levels.

The centrist government late on Monday reached a wide-ranging compromise with farmers, industry, labour unions and environmental groups on policy linked to farming, the country’s largest source of CO2 emissions.

“We will be the first country in the world to introduce a real CO2 tax on agriculture. Other countries will be inspired by this,” Taxation Minister Jeppe Bruus of the centre-left Social Democrats said in a statement on Tuesday.

While subject to approval by parliament, political experts expect a bill to pass following the broad-based consensus.

The deal proposed taxing farmers 300 Danish crowns (C$58.77) per tonne of CO2 in 2030, increasing to 750 crowns (C$146.92) by 2035.

Farmers will be entitled to an income tax deduction of 60 per cent, meaning that the actual cost per tonne will start at 120 crowns and increase to 300 crowns by 2035, while subsidies will be made available to support adjustments in farm operations.

The tax could add an extra cost of 2 crowns per kilo (2.2 pounds) of minced beef in 2030, Minister for Economic Affairs Stephanie Lose told public broadcaster DR. Minced beef retails from around 70 crowns per kilo (C$13.71) at Danish discount stores.

New Zealand this month scrapped plans to introduce a similar tax after facing criticism from farmers.

But while Danish farmers had expressed concerns that the country’s climate goals could force them to lower production and cut jobs, they said the compromise makes it possible to maintain their business.

“The agreement brings clarity when it comes to significant parts of the farmers’ conditions,” the L&F agriculture industry group said.

—Additional reporting by Alison Withers and Stine Jacobsen

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Bill C-234, which passed the House of Commons in late March, remained on the Senate’s order paper for debate Wednesday afternoon, after adjournment Tuesday night without a vote on third reading of the bill — nor a vote on a proposed amendment from the Independent Senators Group (ISG).

The new amendment, put forward Nov. 9 by Ontario Senator Lucie Moncion — an ISG member appointed to the Senate in 2016 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — would amend the bill’s proposed sunset clause so that after eight years, approval for an extension would require Parliament to pass a new bill.

Marc Gold, a non-affiliated senator who serves as the Liberal government’s representative in the Senate, was among those speaking Tuesday in favour of Moncion’s amendment.

Gold said that without Moncion’s proposed change, a review and extension of the bill’s proposed farm fuel exemptions beyond eight years “could proceed with a simple resolution passed in both chambers or by a decision of the executive branch, with no role for parliamentary scrutiny and oversight or committee examination and study.”

Senator Don Plett, leader of the opposition, called Moncion’s proposed amendment “frivolous” and said C-234, as was passed in the Commons, would already allow for a further extension to be initiated — and the length of that extension determined — only by the government, via an order-in-council.

A further extension also wouldn’t be granted unless approved by both the Commons and Senate, he added.

As written, C-234’s language for extending the time frame of its sunset clause “is not unique to this bill,” he said, citing a similar sunset clause for rail interswitching provisions in Bill C-30, the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act.

Rather, Plett said, by forcing a Senate-amended C-234 back to the Commons, “the only utility of this amendment is to carry the (Liberal) government’s water and defeat the bill.”

‘Intimidation’

Debate on C-234 was to continue Tuesday evening but Quebec Senator Raymonde Saint-Germain, also an ISG member and Trudeau appointee, rose at that time on a question of privilege, citing an incident on Nov. 9 which she said infringed on senators’ privilege “to conduct our business free from obstruction and intimidation.”

At the Nov. 9 session, she said, ISG Senator Bernadette Clement’s motion to adjourn debate on the proposed amendment was met with some Conservative senators “demonstrat(ing) physical and verbal intimidation directed at members of my group and myself.

“After violently throwing his earpiece, (Plett) stood before Senator Clement and me as we sat at our desks, yelling and berating us for proposing this routine motion that would see debate resume the following week, when we returned,” Saint-Germain said, adding that another Conservative senator, Michael MacDonald, shouted the word “fascists” at ISG senators.

Later, Saint-Germain said, “at least two” Conservative senators retweeted a post on social media platform X “that not only spread misinformation about the proceedings but encouraged members of the public to call and harass” Clement and Senator Chantal Petitclerc, adding that it “elicited high volumes of threatening phone calls and emails to these independent senators.”

Clement, speaking Tuesday evening to Saint-Germain’s question of privilege, said “Canadians deserve to know that adjournment doesn’t mean a bill is being nixed, but that nuanced explanation wasn’t offered by people pointing the finger at me.”

Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagne noted some senators who had been mentioned in Saint-Germain’s question of privilege weren’t present Tuesday evening, and said she would hear “brief additional arguments” on the matter on Thursday.

However, Conservative Senator David Wells then put forward a separate question of privilege stemming from the same Nov. 9 sitting, saying Moncion had “walked over from her seat and accused me of bullying” after the session was suspended.

Such an action, he said, “creates an atmosphere that may hinder any senator from even contemplating engaging in free debate, lest they be accused of bullying.”

Moncion replied that she was not threatening in her approach but wanted to call attention to a separate tweet from Wells alleging that Gagne, as speaker, “in concert with the ISG leadership has shut down debate” on C-234.

“Receiving a point of privilege was disappointing, but I understand where you’re coming from,” she said. “You want an apology from me, I apologize, Senator Wells, and I apologize in front of this whole chamber.”

Asked by Gagne if he wished to pursue the matter further, Wells replied that “given the debate and the open discussion we’ve had as well as my professional and personal regard for Senator Moncion, I consider this issue closed.”

Debate on Moncion’s amendment resumed briefly before the Senate adjourned for the day at 11 p.m. to resume at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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In a sitting on the afternoon of Nov. 7, senators voted no to the adoption of amendments made by the committee for agriculture and forestry. Twenty-eight voted yes, and four abstained.

The Senate then voted to conduct the third reading of the bill the next time it sits which, as per the Senate website, is Nov. 8. If the Senate votes to approve the bill without amendments after the third reading, it will be ready for royal assent.

Bill C-234 had its first reading in February of 2022. The private members’ bill proposed exempting fuels used for grain drying and heating of barns and greenhouses from the federal price on carbon.

While under consideration by the Senate’s committee for agriculture and forestry, senators voted by a narrow margin to remove barn and greenhouse heating from the bill.

Senator Pierre Dalphond proposed the amendment, telling the committee that while witnesses had made it clear there were no viable alternatives to drying grain with propane and natural gas, alternatives are possible with barns and greenhouses.

This received pushback from agriculture groups, not only because it would diminish relief for livestock and vegetable producers, but because an amendment would delay the progress of the bill.

On Monday, the Grain Farmers of Ontario and Ontario Pork put out statements urging the Senate to pass the bill as soon as possible.

Within minutes of the vote, Grain Growers of Canada released a statement applauding senators for voting down the amendment, and calling for swift passage of the bill.

Updated Nov. 8, correcting the name of Grain Farmers of Ontario.

— Geralyn Wichers reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Steinbach, Man.

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