(Strickke/E+/Getty Images)

Grain drying relief moving forward, one way or other

Governing Liberals telegraph plans to introduce their own measure

Despite voting against a bill to exempt certain farm fuels from the carbon tax, the governing federal Liberals say tax relief for grain drying is coming. Conservative MP Philip Lawrence’s private member’s bill C-206, An Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (qualifying farming fuel), passed second reading in the House of Commons […] Read more

Southwestern Ontario MP Lianne Rood will be the federal Conservatives’ new agriculture critic. (Video screengrab from LianneRood.ca)

Conservatives look to southern Ontario for new ag critic

O'Toole promotes deputy critic Lianne Rood to first chair

The federal Conservatives’ new leader has gone to the other side of Toronto to find his new critic for agriculture and agri-food. Lianne Rood, the rookie MP for the riding of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, was named Tuesday by fellow southern Ontario MP Erin O’Toole to replace southwestern Alberta MP John Barlow as the Conservatives’ shadow minister for […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Beef cattle producers seek new set-aside plan

Cattle groups, Tories call for revival of BSE-era program

Canada’s beef cattle producer groups and federal Conservatives want to see the revival of a BSE-era program to hold cattle back against the risk of further lost options for slaughter. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association on Monday hearkened back to its March 24 list of recommendations to the federal government for support measures against the impacts […] Read more

Canada/U.S. border signage in downtown Detroit. (RiverNorthPhotography/Getty Images)

Trudeau wants CUSMA deal ratified quickly

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday urged legislators to quickly approve a new continental trade pact but the main opposition party said it wanted to study the deal, indicating the ratification process could drag on. Canada is the only one of the three signatories not to have formally blessed the […] Read more

John Barlow, shown here in 2015, is the federal Conservatives’ new lead shadow cabinet minister for agriculture and agri-food. (Johnbarlowmp.ca)

Federal Tories’ former associate ag critic takes lead chair

Andrew Scheer’s federal Conservatives will have a familiar face in the agriculture critic’s chair when the House of Commons reconvenes next month. Scheer on Friday named John Barlow, the MP for the southwestern Alberta riding of Foothills, as the lead opposition critic for agriculture and agri-food. Barlow replaces Quebec MP Luc Berthold, who takes up […] Read more


An excavator works on Parliament Hill on the morning of Oct. 22, 2019, the day after the federal election. (Photo: Reuters/Patrick Doyle)

Industry reacts to divided vote, minority government

Ottawa — A regionally divided federal election resulting in a minority Liberal government leaves a clear challenge for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his caucus colleagues on how to handle the future of agriculture. Trudeau said clearly in his victory speech Monday night that Alberta and Saskatchewan are part of the country and will be […] Read more

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Luc Berthold and Alistair MacGregor all held their seats in the Oct. 21, 2019 federal election. (Dave Bedard photos; MacGregor video screengrab from AlistairMacgregor.ndp.ca)

Voters return Canada’s agriculture minister, ag critics

Canada’s incumbent minister of agriculture and agri-food and all three of her opposition critics in the House of Commons held their seats in Monday night’s federal election. As of about 2 a.m. CT on Tuesday, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals held onto power in a minority government with 157 of 338 seats, ahead of Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives […] Read more

Ag Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau speaks at Cigi in Winnipeg on March 13, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Future of ag policy remains unclear ahead of election

Ottawa – If polls and pundits are to be believed, Monday’s federal election will result in a minority government — meaning no single party would alone be dictating the immediate future of agricultural policy in Canada. While the true results won’t be known until Monday night, most pollsters are speculating either a Conservative or Liberal-led […] Read more


A building housing offices of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing. (AIIB.org)

Federal Tories critique lack of action on China

MarketsFarm — Federal Opposition House Leader Candice Bergen has publicly ripped the federal government’s lack of action to deal with rising barriers against Canada’s substantial ag exports to China. China halted imports of Canadian meat effective Tuesday, the latest on the list of Canadian products China has blacklisted since the December arrest of Huawei executive […] Read more

Federal Conservative leader Andrew Scheer speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on April 10, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Wattie)

Tories’ climate plan focused on green investment

The federal Conservatives’ proposed replacement for the Liberal government’s framework on climate change offers several shout-outs to farmers, in a document focused on green investment rather than current consumption patterns. The lead opposition party’s plan, launched Wednesday by leader Andrew Scheer, proposes to scrap the Trudeau government’s current carbon pricing plan, which imposes levies on […] Read more