Trudeau, under heavy pressure from Liberal legislators to quit amid polls showing the party will be crushed at the next election, said at a news conference that parliament would be suspended until March.

That means Trudeau will still be prime minister on Jan. 20 when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs that would cripple Canada’s economy.

Trudeau, 53, took office in November 2015 and won reelection twice, becoming one of Canada’s longest-serving prime ministers.

But his popularity started dipping two years ago amid public anger over high prices and a housing shortage, and his fortunes never recovered.

Polls show the Liberals will badly lose to the official opposition Conservatives in an election that must be held by late October, regardless of who the leader is.

Parliament was due to resume on Jan. 27 and opposition parties had vowed to bring down the government as soon as they could, most likely at the end of March.

But if Parliament does not return until March 24, the earliest they could present a non-confidence motion would be some time in May.

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Freeland confirmed the move via a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which was posted to her X (formerly Twitter) account. Freeland said Trudeau told her Friday that he no longer wanted her as Finance Minister and offered her another position on cabinet.

“Upon reflection,” Freeland wrote, “I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the cabinet.”

She cited the threat of 25 per cent tariffs from U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump as one of the most dire economic threats facing Canada, an issue which has Canadian farmers facing an uncertain year ahead.

Freeland’s announcement comes only a day after Housing Minister Sean Fraser also announced he would be stepping down from cabinet.

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Panels covered ESG and the changing Canadian agriculture landscape from national and global perspectives.

The first panel focused on ESG standards in a global context.

IFRS Foundation Montreal office Director Isabelle Mégré, said that in many international markets, like the United States and European Union, sustainability disclosure could soon become standard.

To illustrate how this could affect Canada, she gave the example of a California bill set to take effect in 2026 which would see large companies required to disclose climate-related financial risks, including value chain emissions.

“Canada was worth nine billion in 2023,” she said of Californian export money. “We are actually California’s top agriculture and agri-food export market.”

Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking Founder David McInnes asked the speakers how ESG standards can be created to apply to the disparate sectors of Canadian agriculture.

“The standards are not a one-size fits all as we might think,” Mégré said. “It actually requires a lot of judgment and reflection from new companies that are using it.

“It might feel like a one-size-fits-all, because there’s one set of standards. But really, when you dig into it, it’s about reflecting on what is affecting your company’s perspectives, your company’s business models.

“We’re trying to find this common place where it can fit for everybody,” she said.

Canadian sustainability Standards Board Interim Chair Bruce Marchand stressed the importance of having organizations like his remain independent in this process.

“In some countries, the regulator sets the standard and the regulation at the same time,” he said, “and in other countries, the regulator and the standards are separate, but they’re both an arm of government.”

“I want to stress that our board is independent, so it’s not a government and it’s not a government board like our sister boards.”

Mégré closed the discussion by warning that ESG regulation can be very politically polarizing. She said that this has created a fear of backlash among investors wanting to discuss ESG.

The second panel took on upcoming policy such as the Jan. 1, 2025, implementation of the S1 and S2 of the ESG Sustainability Disclosure Standards as well as Bill C-59, which aims to increase greenwashing accountability.

Deloitte Senior Manager of Infrastructure and Capital Projects Michelle Leslie expressed concern over how producers and businesses will have a burden of proof put on them for their sustainability efforts in accordance with Bill C-59. “There’s no standard as to what that burden of proof is,” she said.

Leslie thought definitions of sustainability have not been sufficiently broadened beyond just environmental factors. “If you achieve emissions reductions but it’s at the cost of bankrupting communities, if it’s at the cost of making people poor in the process, then I would say you have failed.”

Pulse Canada VP of Corporate Affairs Greg Northey said ESG goals are not as important to Canadian producers and consumers as other economic development goals.

“From an agricultural sector perspective, we’re still very much focused on how do we become the best, most competitive producer in these global markets,” he said. “And a lot of the time, sustainability, ESG, is not as much an issue.”

United Farmers of Alberta Sustainability Director Selene Munro said there should be more attention paid to cost and scope when creating ESG standards.

“There is a cost to implementing or building or consolidating these standards. Not all programs are built out. There is no understanding of scope.”

“A lot of those organizations will not meet the requirements for reporting because they’re not publicly traded,” said Munro. “The companies that are publicly traded are going to need or require that data from individuals within the supply chain, and that will go down to producers.”

The panelists also highlighted the importance of data collection for influencing public policy.

Before lunch, breakout groups of attendees discussed questions about disclosure standards and a National Index. Following the break, panelists from the breakout groups debriefed on the Importance of consolidation and issues with limited awareness of the standards.

They also spoke to the importance of translating tenets of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to be relevant to ag-specific data tracking.

Finally, Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking Tarra Drevet closed the conference with some words about ESG, sustainability and data collection, stressing the importance of quality information and communication of data.

Drevet communicated an overall note of hope in her closing remarks: “I think we can be optimistic about what’s coming up next.”

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Though the redevelopment would not encroach on farmland, it would replace one eight-storey building on a neighbouring lot with two others, at 16 and 27 storeys respectively. The building proposal was approved by the city’s planning and housing committee Aug. 16.

Why it matters: The Central Experimental Farm has been a key location for Agriculture and Agri-food Canada research trials in Ontario for more than 135 years.

The proposed redevelopment is at Carling and Parkdale, on the northwestern corner of the farm. Shade from the buildings is expected to interfere with research.

“We actually have conducted and concluded a technical internal assessment on the potential impact and risk on CEF land,” said Pascal Michel, AAFC director general for the Ontario-Quebec region. “In short, we’ve done our homework on this quite thoroughly.”

The immediate concern is the shade that two high towers would cast.

“We now know that there will be a direct and meaningful impact on our ability to conduct research on the land that is affected by the shadow of those towers,” Michel said.

“There’s an amount of light in that field, which is diminished. That’s impact number one. With the amount of light being diminished, it changes also all of the soil chemistry.”

The farm aims to create a research environment that simulates a typical Canadian agricultural environment. Dealing with shade from the towers would change this significantly.

“The more meaningful impact is that we conduct experiments, right? Research experiments. To do that, we need the land to be untainted in terms of being representative of a normal agricultural land in Canada.”

Michel said the development will affect more than the small area nearby.

“I can tell you, it penetrates well into the northwest side of the CEF land. So, it is not just the border of Carling (avenue). It’s way deep,” he said. “It penetrates quite deep down into the middle of the CEF.”

The affected area is particularly valuable for research, he added.

“It’s worth noting that the soil composition of this part of the CEF is prime … we’ve got less suitable soil composition elsewhere, but this is the prime land for doing the research that we’re doing.

“That research cannot be conducted if the condition of the research is affected with uncertainties of light and stuff. The data that comes out of this will be hard to be extrapolated as being meaningful in a Canadian context.”

The work of the experimental farm dates back to 1886 and Michel said he believes the historical research asset is now at risk.

AAFC has sent a formal letter to the city of Ottawa, including a detailed technical assessment of the impact. Michel said a city councillor followed up with CEF researchers for a consultation, but negotiations have gone no further.

“We are open to discuss with citizens, with our federal partners, with the City of Ottawa, that this is not an inconvenience,” he said.

“We’re talking about agricultural land and the ability to carry out research experiments. That, I think, is a message that is sometimes not coming so clear.”

Ottawa’s Planning, Development and Construction department did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

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