Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Singapore this past August.

Opinion: Canada’s new foreign charm offensive

Capital Letters with Kelsey Johnson of iPolitics

In the months after U.S. President Donald Trump was elected to the Oval Office, the Trudeau government launched a major charm offensive. Minister after minister headed south for meetings with American officials including congressmen, senators, governors and senior staff within the Trump administration. Parliamentary committees travelled south to meet with their American counterparts and Canadians […] Read more

The U.S. government has implemented policies supportive of corn, but not of soybean prices.

China-U.S. trade dispute likely to drag on, affecting price

U.S. ethanol policy change could increase demand by two billion bushels

Ontario farmers have harvested 60 per cent of the soybeans and 25 per cent of the corn as of Oct. 21. American farmers have combined 49 per cent of the corn and 53 per cent of the soybeans. The seven- to 10-day forecast calls for seasonal temperatures with limited precipitation, which should allow producers to […] Read more


A barge loads on the Mississippi River. American soybeans aren’t moving to China, even though they are price competitive with Brazil.

China soybean imports set for biggest drop in 12 years amid tariff conflict

China is not expected to face a shortfall in supplies because of abundant domestic reserves

Reuters – China’s soybean imports are set to drop by a quarter in the last three months of 2018, their biggest fall in at least 12 years as buyers curb purchases amid the China-U.S. trade war and high domestic stockpiles. Soybeans have been at the heart of the tit-for-tat trade dispute between the world’s top […] Read more







U.S. President Donald Trump holds a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Oct. 9, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Leah Millis)

Trump raises ethanol use in gasoline, appeases farmers ahead of elections

Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump launched an effort on Tuesday to increase ethanol use in the nation’s gasoline pool, delivering a long-sought political victory to the nation’s Farm Belt and angering oil refiners ahead of November’s congressional elections. Trump announced the lifting of a ban on summer sales of gasoline blended with […] Read more