Alexis, the minister of agriculture and food for David Eby’s New Democrats since late 2022, was defeated in her constituency of Abbotsford-Mission in Saturday night’s election by Conservative challenger Reann Gasper, by a spread of almost 2,700 votes.

If the initial vote count holds, Eby’s NDP will be in a minority government position with just 46 of 93 seats, while John Rustad’s Conservatives captured 45 and Sonia Furstenau’s Greens won two. (Furstenau also lost her own seat, in the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill.)

Elections BC said Sunday it will conduct a final count from Oct. 26 to 28, at which time official recounts will also take place for two ridings (Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre) where the spread between the top two candidates in the initial count was smaller than 100 votes.

Alexis, a former mayor (2018-2020) for the Fraser Valley city of Mission, was a rookie MLA when she was named to cabinet in 2022, as Eby replaced John Horgan in the premier’s chair.

As ag minister she replaced Saanich South MLA Lana Popham, who’d handled the ag file since the NDP regained government in 2017.

Popham, who was Eby’s incumbent minister for tourism, arts, culture and sport heading into Saturday’s election, held her seat by a spread of almost 4,900 votes over Conservative challenger Adam Kubel.

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At about 1 a.m. Alberta time on Tuesday, Smith’s UCP was elected or leading in 49 of 87 constituencies; all remaining 38 went to Rachel Notley’s New Democrats (NDP). The two parties had held 60 and 23 seats respectively before Monday’s election.

Nate Horner, the UCP’s most recent minister for agriculture and irrigation, easily held his riding of Drumheller-Stettler on Monday night, drawing 15,274 votes with all polls reporting. His NDP challenger Juliet Franklin followed with 2,684 votes.

READ MORE: Pre-election reports analyze Alberta’s ag issues

Horner, a rancher from a well known political family in Alberta, has been the MLA for Drumheller-Stettler since 2019 and has handled the ag file since November 2021.

He was named to the ag post following the resignation of Devin Dreeshen, who later returned to cabinet as transportation minister and also easily held his own riding of Innisfail-Sylvan Lake on Monday night against NDP challenger Jason Heistad by a spread of over 10,000 votes with all polls reporting.

Heather Sweet, the NDP’s sitting agriculture critic, also held her riding of Edmonton-Manning with 9,587 votes and all polls reporting, ahead of UCP challenger Albert Mazzocca with 6,230 votes.

Sweet, an Edmonton social worker before entering politics in 2015, has been the NDP’s critic for agriculture since February 2021 and for rural economic development since October 2021, and the party’s deputy house leader since February this year. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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After the House of Commons resumed sitting last Monday (Jan. 30), NDP leader Jagmeet Singh on Friday named Alistair MacGregor, MP for the Vancouver Island riding of Cowichan-Malahat-Langford, to an additional role as critic for food price inflation.

“Everyone should be able to afford healthy food,” Singh said in a release. “But right now, families are crossing items off their grocery list, or racking up bigger bills at the till — and the Liberals are letting it happen.”

McGregor, the party’s ag critic since 2018, will “fight for every tool possible to stop greedflation, so people have… more breathing room,” Singh said. “That includes leading the fight for a windfall tax, because we have to stop rewarding grocery giants for gouging families.”

With MacGregor’s new assignment, his previous additional role as the party’s critic for public safety goes to another British Columbia MP, the NDP’s House leader Peter Julian.

Singh also shuffled duties to two other B.C. MPs: Richard Cannings, the party’s critic for emergency preparedness/climate change resilience, will also pick up the international trade file from Windsor MP Brian Masse, while Taylor Bachrach becomes deputy critic for fisheries and oceans, taking over from another Vancouver Island MP, Gord Johns.

While the NDP sits back in fourth place in seats in the Commons behind the Liberals, Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois, it holds outsized influence through a “supply and confidence” agreement it reached with the minority Liberal government last March, providing support on budgetary bills and in any confidence votes until June 2025.

The party said its announcement of a food inflation critic follows Loblaw Cos., owner of major retail chains such as Loblaws, Superstore and Shoppers Drug Mart, lifting the price freeze it pledged last October on its ‘no name’ food brand. The company said Oct. 17 it would freeze those prices until the end of January.

The NDP said Friday the end of that price freeze is “sparking worry about food prices rising even faster in February.”

Singh, in a separate statement Thursday, specifically called out Loblaw for ending that price freeze, saying the company’s profits “have skyrocketed. They’ve been using inflation as an excuse to hike prices higher than they need to.”

Publicly traded Loblaw releases its fourth-quarter and year-end results for fiscal 2022 on Feb. 23.

For its third quarter, the company on Nov. 16 reported food retail sales of $12.22 billion, marking a 6.9 per cent increase in same-store sales over the year-earlier period, as well as the majority of the company’s $17.39 billion in gross revenue for the quarter, up from $16.05 billion in the previous Q3. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Price rises for store-bought food have been outpacing the broader annual inflation rate for 10 consecutive months, and grew 11.4 per cent in September, the fastest pace in over four decades, according to Statistics Canada.

“With inflation on the rise, Canadian consumers have seen their purchasing power decline. This is especially true when buying groceries,” the Competition Bureau said in a statement.

Canada’s opposition New Democrats (NDP), who have a deal to keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government in power until 2025, have been calling out grocery chain operators for high food prices.

Last week, the House of Commons supported an NDP proposal asking the government to make grocery store operators more accountable and impose tougher penalties for price-fixing and stronger competition laws.

The Competition Bureau said it would study whether competition factors were impacting the price of food — on top of other factors including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and supply chain disruptions — but it was not investigating specific allegations of wrongdoing.

Results from the study are expected to be released in June. The bureau also opened up an eight-week public comment period on the matter, for which it will accept submissions until Dec. 16.

The watchdog said the grocery industry was complex and it might not have enough information to draw firm conclusions, but it expected to recommend measures that governments could take to help to improve competition.

Grocery chain operator Loblaw Cos., which reported a quarterly profit of $387 million on $12.85 billion revenue in July, said last week it was freezing prices of some 1,500 products of its in-store “no-name” brand until the end of January.

“Clearly, the rich CEOs of big grocery stores can reduce food costs for Canadian families,” the federal NDP said in a release last week following Loblaw’s announcement.

— Reporting for Reuters by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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The NDP’s agriculture critic, British Columbia MP Alistair MacGregor, on Monday introduced a private member’s bill in the Commons to create a national soil health strategy for Canada.

The strategy as proposed in Bill C-290, which got first reading on Monday, would help maintain, enhance and rebuild the capacity of soils, the NDP said.

“Healthy soils are the foundation of sustainable food production, enhanced biodiversity and cleaner air and water for present and future generations. Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast depend on our ability to produce good food to keep themselves, their families and the environment healthy,” MacGregor said in a statement.

The national strategy would also have reporting requirements tied to it, including a requirement that the federal agriculture minister report on its effectiveness — and make recommendations for same — every three years after the strategy is put in place.

Beyond encouraging farmers and other land users to adopt best practices, MacGregor’s bill would create the office of a National Soil Health Advocate and establish National Soil Conservation Week.

That week would be on the third week of April each year. National Soil Conservation Week already takes place, but the strategy would give it federal recognition.

The advocate’s role, meanwhile, would be “to raise public awareness of the critical role soil plays in supporting agricultural productivity, in maintaining healthy ecosystems and in meeting global challenges, including food security and climate change.”

“Farmers are on the front line of the fight against climate change — few feel the impacts of our ever-changing weather systems more than they do,” MacGregor said.

“This bill is about ensuring they have the tools they need to keep doing their jobs to the best of their ability. When we support our farmers and food producers, Canadians see the benefits in healthy food and a safer, greener environment.”

Karen Ross, a director with Farmers for Climate Solutions, said in the NDP’s release that practices to enhance soil health are “fundamental to the future of farming.”

Private members’ bills such as C-290 rarely become law in Canada but are believed to have better chances for passage during periods of minority government such as in the current Liberal-led Commons.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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Provincial opposition leader Ryan Meili on Tuesday announced Trent Wotherspoon, the MLA for Regina Rosemont since 2007, as the NDP’s critic for agriculture as well as finance, SaskTel, Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. (SCIC) and the province’s Crown Investments Corporation.

Wotherspoon was returned to office in the Oct. 26 general election by a spread of 1,580 votes over Saskatchewan Party challenger Alex Nau.

A teacher before entering politics, Wotherspoon also previously served as a director for Regina’s Warehouse Business Improvement District. In the legislature, he also previously served as interim opposition leader and as critic for portfolios including education and Crown corporations.

As ag critic he replaces Yens Pedersen, who on Oct. 26 lost his seat for Regina Northeast against Saskatchewan Party challenger Gary Grewal by a spread of 450 votes.

When the legislature reconvenes, Wotherspoon will face David Marit, who Premier Scott Moe re-appointed Monday as minister for agriculture and SCIC.

Marit, MLA for the southwestern riding of Wood River since 2016, has handled the ag file since 2018, when Lumsden-Morse MLA Lyle Stewart stepped down from the ag post to undergo treatment for cancer.

Stewart also returned to the provincial cabinet Monday as provincial secretary and as legislative secretary to the premier responsible for provincial autonomy.

The provincial secretary’s office handles matters relating to official protocol, provincial honours and awards and French language services. Stewart’s role as legislative secretary, Moe said, “will focus on areas where Saskatchewan can exercise and strengthen our provincial autonomy within the Canadian federation.”

Among other cabinet posts of interest to producers, Don Morgan was shuffled Monday to become minister responsible for “all major Crown corporations” including SaskWater, SaskPower, SaskEnergy, SGI, SaskTel and SaskGaming.

Joe Hargrave has also been shuffled to become minister for highways and the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency, and Warren Kaeding to become environment minister.

Jeremy Harrison was re-appointed Monday as minister of trade, while Everett Hindley, MLA for Swift Current since a 2018 byelection, enters cabinet as minister for mental health and addictions, seniors and rural and remote health. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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David Marit, MLA for the southwestern riding of Wood River since 2016, held his seat by a spread of 5,177 votes over the New Democrats’ challenger, teacher Roger Morgan, with 459 mail-in ballots remaining to be counted.

Marit farms at Fife Lake, about 150 km south of Moose Jaw, and served as president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities before running for provincial office. He was moved from the highways portfolio to the ag file in 2018, as Lyle Stewart stepped down from the ag post to undergo treatment for cancer.

Stewart, the MLA for Lumsden-Morse and ag minister from 2012 to 2018, also easily held his seat Monday by a spread of 4,507 votes over NDP challenger Nic Lewis, with 850 mail-in ballots still to be counted.

Ryan Meili’s opposition New Democrats, as of late Monday night, were elected or leading in 11 ridings, compared to 50 for Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party, which for the NDP would mean a net gain of just one seat over the 2016 election.

Several ridings, however, remained too close to call, with a total of 61,255 mail-in ballots to be tallied when the final count is held starting Nov. 7.

As with British Columbia’s provincial election held Saturday, the mail-in ballots — an option that got a major boost due to the COVID-19 pandemic — could still tip close contests one way or the other.

The NDP’s incumbent agriculture critic, Regina Northeast MLA Yens Pedersen, is one such example. As of Monday night, with 50 of 50 ballot boxes reporting, he was trailing Saskatchewan Party challenger Gary Grewal by 615 votes — but with 1,270 mail-in ballots remaining.

A Regina lawyer who grew up on a family farm at Cut Knife, about 50 km west of North Battleford, Pedersen had just come to office in a 2018 byelection against Grewal, held to fill a vacant seat after Saskatchewan Party cabinet minister Kevin Doherty resigned.

If Pedersen is defeated in the final vote count, the NDP again has a limited pool of obvious candidates for the agriculture critic’s job.

Among those may be Carla Beck, a Regina social worker and school board trustee and the MLA for Regina Lakeview since 2016. Beck also grew up on a family farm, near Lang, about 45 km northwest of Weyburn.

Beck on Monday night was leading Saskatchewan Party challenger Megan Patterson by a spread of 1,462 votes with 48 of 48 ballot boxes reporting — and another 2,127 mail-in ballots remaining to be counted. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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John Horgan’s NDP, which in 2017 overturned a minority Liberal government with the help of the Green Party, was projected Saturday evening to form a majority on its own, winning or leading in 55 of 87 ridings, followed by Andrew Wilkinson’s Liberals with 29 and Sonia Furstenau’s Greens with three.

Lana Popham, the NDP’s incumbent minister of agriculture, is expected to hold her Vancouver Island riding of Saanich South, with a spread of 4,020 votes over Liberal contender Rishi Sharma, with 92 of 92 ballot boxes reported.

Ian Paton, the Liberals’ agriculture critic heading into Saturday’s election, is also expected to hold his Vancouver-area riding of Delta South, leading by a spread of 3,286 votes over NDP candidate Bruce Reid with 92 of 92 ballots boxes reported.

Votes counted on Saturday night are to include only those from general voting and advance polls. The final vote count is to include a substantially higher-than-usual number of mail-in absentee ballots not counted on election night; the final count is expected to begin 13 days after election day and to continue for three days.

Popham is a co-founder of Vancouver Island organic vineyard Barking Dog Vineyard and former president of the Vancouver Island Grape Growers Association, while Paton has owned and operated a dairy farm and farm auction business at Delta.

The province and its agriculture and agri-food sector have faced a number of pandemic-related issues including management of its seasonal agriculture workforce, among others.

The province is also facing demands for flexibility in residential construction within its Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), in the face of escalating housing prices in the region.

The ALR includes about 11 million acres of land provincewide on which agriculture is deemed the priority use and non-farming uses are restricted. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which delivers $500 per week to those who qualify, had been available for a maximum of 16 weeks, which meant that some people would no longer be able to collect it starting in July.

In a news conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau noted that the 13 provinces and territories were gradually restarting their economies, but said the income support would still be needed. Unemployment in Canada hit a record high in May.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We still have a long journey ahead… Many workers will be able to find work, but others won’t,” Trudeau said. “Even as we start to reopen, a lot of people still need this support to pay their bills while they look for work.”

The opposition New Democrat Party’s (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh had said he would not support a confidence vote in Parliament on Wednesday if the CERB were not extended.

Trudeau’s Liberal government depends on the support of at least one of three opposition parties in the House of Commons. The NDP had no immediate comment.

When official data were posted on Monday evening, there had been 99,147 total coronavirus cases in Canada and 8,175 deaths.

Separately, Trudeau said in a news conference that the U.S. border restrictions would remain in place until July 21, confirming a Reuters story published last week.

“This is an important decision that will keep people in both of our countries safe,” Trudeau said.

— Reporting for Reuters by Steve Scherer and Kelsey Johnson in Ottawa.

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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 the infrastructure and communities file.

First elected in the Macleod riding in a 2014 byelection as a replacement for Ted Menzies, who had quit the previous year, Barlow returned as the MP for Foothills in 2015 and again in October’s election, topping Liberal challenger Cheryl Moller by over 50,000 votes.

Born in Regina, Barlow worked as a newspaper editor in southern Alberta before entering politics. He previously served as assistant critic for workforce development (2015-16), interprovincial trade critic (2016-17), and behind Berthold as associate ag critic (2017-18), before Scheer promoted him to employment, workforce development and labour critic in September last year.

Backstopping Barlow on the agriculture and agri-food file, Scheer on Friday named Richard Lehoux, the new MP for the Quebec riding of Beauce, as associate critic for agriculture and agri-food.

Lehoux, a dairy producer before entering federal politics, served as mayor (1998-2017) of Saint-Elzear, about 60 km south of Quebec City, as reeve (2000-17) for the regional county municipality (MRC) of Nouvelle-Beauce and as president (2014-17) of the Federation Quebecoise des municipalites (FQM).

Lehoux in last month’s election faced People’s Party leader and ex-Conservative cabinet minister Maxime Bernier, the Beauce riding’s MP for 13 years, and topped him by a spread of over 6,000 votes.

Among other critic portfolios of interest to farmers in Scheer’s new shadow cabinet, Saskatchewan MP Randy Hoback returns as international trade critic; Quebec MP Bernard Genereux will handle the rural economic development file; B.C. MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay, environment; Ontario MP Colin Carrie, Canada-U.S. relations; B.C. MP Todd Doherty, transport; and Ontario MP Erin O’Toole, foreign affairs.

NDP critic returns

Jagmeet Singh’s New Democrats also announced their MPs’ new critic files on Thursday, keeping Alistair MacGregor, MP for the B.C. riding of Cowichan-Malahat-Langford, as the NDP critic for agriculture and agri-food.

MacGregor, a small farm owner and former constituency staffer for local NDP MP Jean Crowder, was first elected to the Commons in 2015 and was named the NDP’s ag critic in January last year.

Singh on Thursday also named MacGregor as the party’s lead critic for rural economic development and as deputy justice critic behind fellow Vancouver Island MP Randall Garrison.

MacGregor had previously served as the party’s lead critic for justice (2017) and for seniors (2015-17).

Among other critic files of interest to farmers in Singh’s shadow cabinet, Winnipeg MP Daniel Blaikie will handle international trade and western economic diversification; northern Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, transport; Victoria MP Laurel Collins, environment; and St. John’s MP Jack Harris, foreign affairs. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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