Weeks away from seeding, farmers face uncertainty from Chinese canola tariffs
Social Sharing
Farmers on the Canadian Prairies have canola on their minds as they brace for a geopolitical storm.
On Thursday, China is expected to institute 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian canola oil and canola meal, along with 25 per cent tariffs on other goods like seafood and pork.
Saskatchewan has five canola crushing plants and produces more than 50 per cent of the country's canola.
As seeding season inches closer, farmers say they aren't sure if planting canola is worth it this year.
"There's so much at stake. We built a farm based on Canada's commitment to free trade and now that's all up in the air," Margaret Rigetti, a canola farmer near Moose Jaw and the director with the Saskatchewan Oil Seeds Development Commission, told CBC.
"We're weeks away from going to the field. We have hundreds of thousands of dollars of seed and fertilizer on the farm waiting to go into the ground."
WATCH | China hitting Canada with 100% tariff on canola oil and peas:
China hitting Canada with 100% tariff on canola oil and peas
9 days ago
Duration 1:58
The Canadian Canola industry is under attack again from China. New Chinese tariffs are in response to the federal government's decision last October to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and a 25 per cent levy on its aluminum and steel products.
The Chinese tariffs on canola come in response to Canada's 100-per-cent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and a 25-per-cent levy on Chinese aluminum and steel products imposed on Oct. 1, 2024.
The move was meant to keep cheap electric cars from China at bay to grow and protect Canada's nascent EV sector.
Farmers argue that the auto industry shouldn't be more well-protected than the canola industry.
"I want to know why farmers are paying to protect an industry that barely exists," Rigetti said. "I want to know why the automotive industry doesn't have to compete while we do."
The Chinese tariffs are scheduled to kick in just a day after the Saskatchewan budget is set to be introduced in the provincial election.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe addressed farmers' concerns Tuesday at Canada's Farm Show, a trade show in Regina. He urged Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney to take action against China.
"He should use this time to reach out to the president of China," Moe said. "This is the most urgent and pressing issue to the Canadian economy and to the Western Canadian economy. There will be jobs that will be lost."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Canada Standard
38 minutes ago
- Canada Standard
"India is not a football which you kick around, it is an ally which you strive to embrace": Ex-Pentagon official Michael Rubin on India-Canada ties
Washington, DC [US], June 10 (ANI): Former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, said that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is showing a more serious and constructive approach than his predecessor Justin Trudeau regarding the future of the India-Canada relationship. 'India is not a football which you kick around. It is an ally to be embraced', Rubin remarked, underscoring the need for Canada to demonstrate sincerity and maturity in rebuilding ties with India. 'Mark Carney is working on repairing the relationship rather than following Justin Trudeau down the rabbit hole already shows that Prime Minister Carney is a much more serious person than the former Prime Minister of now needs to demonstrate its good faith. India is not a football which you kick around. India is an ally which you strive to embrace,' Rubin said. Commenting further on bilateral ties, Rubin criticised the previous Canadian leadership's posture towards India. 'Canada's relationship with India, especially under Justin Trudeau, was not principled. It was all virtue signalling and politics. The fact of the matter is that India is crucial to Canada, and Canada needs to decide whether ultimately it's going to side with the democracies like India and the United States, or whether it's going to posture the way Justin Trudeau did and allow China, which also has significant interests in Canada,' he added. Continuing his sharp critique, Rubin has strongly criticised former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for amplifying what he called exaggerated claims around Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement. He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strategic diplomacy and called for firm action against Khalistani extremism. 'The grievances about Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement were not real': Rubin said, accusing Trudeau of appeasing radical Sikh extremists in Canada and shifting blame to India rather than acknowledging domestic issues. Touching upon the issue of Khalistani extremism, Rubin stressed the importance of decisive measures from Canada. He said, 'It is so essential that India continued to press Canada to address the Khalistan movement head-on to designate the Khalistan movement and extremists as terrorists, to uproot terror finance and to stigmatize forever these groups that really have no popular legitimacy back home in Punjab or for that matter, among the larger peaceful Sikh community in Canada. It's time to stop allowing the loud, extreme voices to win and instead recognise that those same loud, extreme voices oftentimes deserve to be in prison for their involvement in terror, tax fraud and organised crime in Canada, in San Francisco and elsewhere.' Reiterating his criticism of Trudeau, Rubin again dismissed the narrative around Nijjar and the Khalistan movement. He said, 'The grievances about Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement were not real. They were exaggerations that Justin Trudeau Trudeau may have wanted so much to appease radical Sikh extremists in various constituencies that he was willing to take an organised crime hit between various Sikh groups and mafias and blame an outside power for it, rather than acknowledge the problem and the fault was Canada's alone. That is Justin Trudeau's problem. But now that Justin Trudeau is gone and likely will never return to power, Prime Minister Carney is taking a sober approach and recognising that he is not going to be tied to Justin Trudeau's fictions...' In this context, Rubin has come out swinging against Khalistanis while praising Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to accept Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's invitation to the G7 Summit (from June 15 to 17) in Canada. He believes PM Modi's magnanimity in attending the summit shows 'India has nothing to hide.' Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Rubin contrasted former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's approach with that of Carney's, saying Carney 'understands the importance of India' and wants to 'restore maturity to the relationship.' 'Canadian PM Mark Carney originally was a banker. He understands the importance of India. Justin Trudeau was a politician who peddled in image and imagination, and therefore it makes sense that Carney wants to restore maturity to the relationship,' Rubin told ANI. 'It makes sense for Prime Minister Modi to show that the problem was not Canada itself, but the immaturity and unprofessionalism of Justin Trudeau,' he added. Further, the American security expert highlighted that the Indian government is 'willing to have a serious dialogue, much like they had with the United States.' Rubin added that the problem with 'Justin Trudeau is that for his own domestic, political reasons and to assuage radical constituencies, he was shooting from the hip without any factual basis to support his accusations against India.' 'What Prime Minister Modi is showing is that India has nothing to hide. If you're going to have a serious law enforcement dialogue, it's got to be two-way. We've got to talk about illegal immigration into Canada, terror finance in Canada, radical Sikh mafias and how the Khalistan movement is tied to organised crime and terrorism,' he added. Rubin also raised concerns about the Khalistanis' movements, stating, 'When you give haven to any terror group. Ultimately, your interests are going to be subverted.' 'Justin Trudeau and frankly Pierre Trudeau before him, by embracing and tolerating the Khalistan movement in the face of some of the worst terrorist attacks in the 20th century, what they did is ultimately undermine Canada's moral authority and its strategic importance,' he added. (ANI)
Canada Standard
38 minutes ago
- Canada Standard
"The grievances about Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement were not real": Former Pentagon official slams Trudeau for amplifying exaggerated claims
Washington, DC [US], June 11 (ANI): Former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, has strongly criticised former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for amplifying what he called exaggerated claims around Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement. He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strategic diplomacy and called for firm action against Khalistani extremism. 'The grievances about Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement were not real': Rubin said, accusing Trudeau of appeasing radical Sikh extremists in Canada and shifting blame to India rather than acknowledging domestic issues. Rubin further elaborated on Prime Minister Modi's leadership, saying, 'Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi's critics will acknowledge that he has grown tremendously in office and he's now one of the most influential statesmen not only in Asia but in the world. The fact of the matter is that this magnanimity is strategic and it also forces the Canadians to recognise that the problem all along was in Canada and not with India. So, kudos to Prime Minister Modi for this strategy and for rejoining and agreeing to go to Alberta and the fact of the matter is that a strong relationship between India and all of North America is within everybody's interests, especially given the rise of China.' Touching upon the issue of Khalistani extremism, Rubin stressed the importance of decisive measures from Canada. He said, 'It is so essential that India continued to press Canada to address the Khalistan movement head-on to designate the Khalistan movement and extremists as terrorists, to uproot terror finance and to stigmatize forever these groups that really have no popular legitimacy back home in Punjab or for that matter, among the larger peaceful Sikh community in Canada. It's time to stop allowing the loud, extreme voices to win and instead recognise that those same loud, extreme voices oftentimes deserve to be in prison for their involvement in terror, tax fraud and organised crime in Canada, in San Francisco and elsewhere.' Reiterating his criticism of Trudeau, Rubin again dismissed the narrative around Nijjar and the Khalistan movement. He said, 'The grievances about Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement were not real. They were exaggerations that Justin Trudeau Trudeau may have wanted so much to appease radical Sikh extremists in various constituencies that he was willing to take an organised crime hit between various Sikh groups and mafias and blame an outside power for it, rather than acknowledge the problem and the fault was Canada's alone. That is Justin Trudeau's problem. But now that Justin Trudeau is gone and likely will never return to power, Prime Minister Carney is taking a sober approach and recognising that he is not going to be tied to Justin Trudeau's fictions...' In this context, Rubin has come out swinging against Khalistanis while praising Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to accept Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's invitation to the G7 Summit (from June 15 to 17) in Canada. He believes PM Modi's magnanimity in attending the summit shows 'India has nothing to hide.' Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Rubin contrasted former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's approach with that of Carney's, saying Carney 'understands the importance of India' and wants to 'restore maturity to the relationship.' 'Canadian PM Mark Carney originally is a banker. He understands the importance of India. Justin Trudeau was a politician who peddled in image and imagination, and therefore it makes sense that Carney wants to restore maturity to the relationship,' Rubin told ANI. 'It actually makes sense for Prime Minister Modi to show that the problem was not Canada itself, but the immaturity and unprofessionalism of Justin Trudeau,' he added. Further, the American security expert highlighted that the Indian government is 'willing to have a serious dialogue, much like they had with the United States.' Rubin added that the problem with 'Justin Trudeau is that for his own domestic, political reasons and to assuage radical constituencies, he was basically shooting from the hip without any factual basis to support his accusations against India.' 'What Prime Minister Modi is showing is that India has nothing to hide. If you're going to have a serious law enforcement dialogue, it's got to be two-way. We've got to talk about illegal immigration into Canada, terror finance in Canada, radical Sikh mafias and how the Khalistan movement is tied to organised crime and terrorism,' he added. Rubin also raised concerns about the Khalistanis' movements, stating, 'when you give safe haven to any terror group. Ultimately, your own interests are going to be subverted.' 'Justin Trudeau and frankly Pierre Trudeau before him, by embracing and tolerating the Khalistan movement in the face of some of the worst terrorist attacks in the 20th century, what they did is ultimately undermine Canada's moral authority and its strategic importance,' he added. (ANI)
Canada Standard
38 minutes ago
- Canada Standard
American security expert torches Khalistanis, hails PM Modi's magnanimity on accepting Canada's G7 invite
Washington, DC [US], June 11 (ANI): Former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, has come out swinging against Khalistanis while praising Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to accept Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's invitation to the G7 Summit (from June 15 to 17) in Canada. Rubin believes PM Modi's magnanimity in attending the summit shows 'India has nothing to hide.' Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Rubin contrasted Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's approach with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's, saying Carney 'understands the importance of India' and wants to 'restore maturity to the relationship.' 'Canadian PM Mark Carney originally is a banker. He understands the importance of India. Justin Trudeau was a politician who peddled in image and imagination, and therefore it makes sense that Carney wants to restore maturity to the relationship,' Rubin told ANI. 'It actually makes sense for Prime Minister Modi to show that the problem was not Canada itself, but the immaturity and unprofessionalism of Justin Trudeau,' he added. Further, the American security expert highlighted that the Indian government is 'willing to have a serious dialogue, much like they had with the United States.' Rubin added that the problem with 'Justin Trudeau is that for his own domestic, political reasons and to assuage radical constituencies, he was basically shooting from the hip without any factual basis to support his accusations against India.' 'What Prime Minister Modi is showing is that India has nothing to hide. If you're going to have a serious law enforcement dialogue, it's got to be two-way. We've got to talk about illegal immigration into Canada, terror finance in Canada, radical Sikh mafias and how the Khalistan movement is tied to organised crime and terrorism,' he added. Rubin also raised concerns about the Khalistanis' movements, stating, 'when you give safe haven to any terror group. Ultimately, your own interests are going to be subverted.' 'Justin Trudeau and frankly Pierre Trudeau before him, by embracing and tolerating the Khalistan movement in the face of some of the worst terrorist attacks in the 20th century, what they did is ultimately undermine Canada's moral authority and its strategic importance,' he added. (ANI)
