The federal Conservatives’ point person on agriculture will remain at that post under the party’s new leader.
John Barlow, MP for the southwestern Alberta riding of Foothills, was named Wednesday as the Conservatives’ “shadow minister” for agriculture, agri-food and food security.
Pierre Poilievre, who was named Sept. 10 as the official opposition party’s new leader, named Barlow to a shadow cabinet of 51 shadow ministers and 20 associate shadow ministers from a 118-member caucus.
Barlow — who in February announced his endorsement for Poilievre’s leadership bid — is no stranger to the agriculture file, having served as then-leader Andrew Scheer’s associate ag critic (2017-18) and lead ag critic (2019-20).
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The party’s next leader, Erin O’Toole, dropped Barlow from the shadow cabinet in September 2020 — replacing him with southwestern Ontario MP Lianne Rood — but then brought Barlow back as ag critic last November.
(Rood is also in Poilievre’s shadow cabinet, as his critic for the feds’ regional development agencies operating in southern, central and eastern Ontario.)
Born in Regina, Barlow worked as a newspaper editor in southern Alberta before entering politics. He came to the Commons in 2014 in a byelection for the riding then known as Macleod, replacing Ted Menzies following the latter’s resignation in 2013, and has since been re-elected three times in what’s now Foothills.
Poilievre’s shadow cabinet also gives Barlow two associate shadow ministers for agriculture. One, Richard Lehoux, MP for the Quebec riding of Beauce, previously served as an associate ag critic for Scheer and deputy ag critic for O’Toole.
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).
The second new associate shadow minister is Warren Steinley, MP for the largely suburban riding of Regina-Lewvan, who until this week was the party’s critic for Prairie economic development and interprovincial trade.
Steinley, who grew up on a dairy and beef operation at Rush Lake, northeast of Swift Current, came to the Commons in 2019 off an eight-year run as a provincial MLA for the governing Saskatchewan Party. He previously served as an intern to the federal agriculture minister and later as director of research for the Saskatchewan Party caucus office.
Other appointees to Poilievre’s shadow cabinet of interest to farmers include B.C. MP Mark Strahl (transport, with associate critic Dan Muys), Quebec MP Gerard Deltell (environment, with associate critic Robert Kitchen), Ontario MP Michael Chong (foreign affairs), Ontario MP Kyle Seeback (international trade) and Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux (supply chain issues).
Poilievre, in Wednesday’s release, pledged his shadow cabinet would fight tax hikes and “tackle the cost-of-living crisis so that young people can buy a home, families can afford nutritious food, and our seniors can retire with dignity.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network
