Sask. farmers say they're fed up with America, but also the Liberal government

CBC

25-03-2025

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As punishing Chinese and American tariffs threaten Canada's exports, Sask. farmers expressed anger and frustration over what they called U.S. President Donald Trump's "stupidity."
But for all the vitriol they have toward the U.S. leader, they also showed disdain for former prime minister Justin Trudeau and his successor, Mark Carney.
"Everything is for the east," said Carl Jensen, who farms in Invermay, Sask., about 250 kilometres east of Saskatoon, during Canada's Farm Show last week.
CBC Saskatchewan spent a morning at the Farm Show in Regina as part of its national efforts to find out what matters to Canadians in this federal election campaign.
What issue matters the most to you this federal election, and why? Share your personal stories with us at [e-mail].
Jensen, along with other agricultural producers at the event, expressed bewilderment at the narrowing of polls that once showed a rock-solid Conservative majority.
"If the Liberals get in, I think, what's gonna happen here? Western Canada is going to separate."
Like many others at this farm show, the Jensens identify as Conservative Party supporters. Conservative MPs took all 14 Saskatchewan seats in the previous federal election.
"We've had so many years of Liberals and their policies that do not support Western Canada at all," said Carl's wife, Elsie Jensen. She voiced a commonly-expressed view at the show that Saskatchewan boasts natural resources and should have thriving energy and farm sectors, but haven't seen the benefit of those resources.
"We're carrying the country and they're punishing us."
Tariffs causing stress
Tariffs were top of mind for many of the farmers at the show. China recently introduced 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian canola oil and canola meal. That move is seen as a tit-for-tat measure in response to Canada's 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. Meanwhile, America is poised to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all products — including canola — next month.
The Jensens also shared another commonly-expressed view at this Farm Show, that Canadian-imposed tariffs on China's EVs were meant to support an auto industry in the east at the cost of farmers in the west.
"The circumstances now are just going from bad to worse with Trump's policies, with China's response to Trudeau's stupidity," Elsie said.
"You have to play ball with the Chinese. We get everything from China," her husband added.
As angering as tariffs are, the couple and others at the farm show also expressed continued ire over the carbon tax, with the Jensens describing it as driving up the cost of everything, with the rebate not covering the tax's true costs.
While Carney had signed a prime ministerial directive to kill the unpopular fuel tax as of April 1, many at the farm show expressed deep skepticism that he would truly "axe the tax," as Conservative Party leader Pierre Pollievre has been calling for.
"Would you trust the Liberals? It's just the ploy because the election has been announced. It's just a ploy to get more votes," Carl said.
Former Sask. premier Brad Wall has also spoken about Carney's apparent killing of the carbon tax, saying the prime minister will "not get rid of the carbon tax, but he will hide it," by creating a shadow carbon price on Canadian business. Wall shared a Facebook post that noted reliable polls are now showing that Canadians may deny the Conservatives a majority in the upcoming federal election.
"How could Canadians even flirt with such a possibility?" he asked in the post.
Yvan Delorme, who runs a business spraying crops, said farmers are the lifeblood of the province, providing work for people like him who depend on the agricultural industry.
"[The federal government] treats us like third-rate citizens and we're not. We should actually be the top of the food chain," he said, calling it an "understatement" to say people in Western Canada would be angry if another Liberal party government was elected.
"Voting for getting another Liberal government is like crapping your pants and changing your shirt," he said with a wry laugh.
WATCH | Sask. voters react to Prime Minister Mark Carney cancelling consumer carbon tax:
Sask. residents express skepticism after consumer carbon tax axed
13 minutes ago
Duration 1:40
Western alienation not new
In a province where F--k Trudeau signs are a common sight, animosity toward the Liberals has been around for decades, said Daniel Westlake, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Saskatchewan.
But he doesn't believe another Liberal win would bring the bubbling Western separatism to a boil.
"Part of this is because the animosity toward the Liberals is not new, and in the past, it has never led to a serious threat of separatism," he said.
While rural voters in Saskatchewan may not feel like the government represents their interests, westerners still tend to see themselves as Canadians first, he said.
"I just don't think there is the sense of distinct identity as divorced from Canada that is necessary to fuel a serious separatist movement," he said, noting that even rural Western Canadians express themselves in protest by using the Canadian flag.
"That suggests to me that the people expressing these views may not like the direction the current government is taking Canada, but that they still see themselves as Canadian."
For now, with the federal election results still up in the air, rural voters at Canada's Farm Show said they're trying to cope with the stress of the unknown and hoping that the next government will be able to deal with Trump's volatility.
The Jensens hope their canola crop could bring in a million dollars or more. Instead, tariffs could see their profits entirely evaporate and force them to look to Farm Credit Canada for help to seed next year's crop.
"I think Trump figures he's an illusionist, so he's distracting us by making us think about them while he shafts us some other way," Elsie Jensen said, adding she's unsure what Canada's next leadership will do for them.
"We're just kind of, 'Wait and see. Are you going to do anything to help us out?' Because farming is what we do in Saskatchewan.
"It's just a very, very stressful occupation to be in right now."