Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland waits to enter a ballroom at an event in Ottawa on Dec. 9, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

New finance minister Freeland no longer to spearhead U.S. relations

Ottawa | Reuters — Chrystia Freeland will no longer be in charge of spearheading diplomatic relations with the United States now that she is Canada’s new finance minister, three government sources told Reuters Wednesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had made Freeland his main U.S. go-between when he named her deputy prime minister after last year’s […] Read more

The money will be aimed at improving living quarters for temporary foreign workers, the federal government said.  Photo: Getty Images

Feds put up $58.6 M for temporary foreign worker supports

Glacier FarmMedia – The federal government is announcing $58.6 million in new money to further support temporary foreign workers in Canada’s agricultural sector, it was announced July 31. Spending is expected to focus on health and safety of temporary foreign workers in Canada. Farmers will be eligible to access $35 million, administrated through Agriculture and […] Read more


Two-thirds of voters in the last election cast their ballot for a party that supported or promoted a price on pollution.  Photo: E+/Getty Images

Opinion: Ending carbon tax not an electable position for leadership candidates

Glacier FarmMedia – Canadians can be forgiven for offering little more than passing shrugs at the ongoing Conservative Party of Canada leadership race. The ongoing pandemic, the governing Liberals’ handling of it, and the WE Charity scandal side dish are consuming our attention. At least for me, the political and cultural fractures in the United […] Read more

Photo: iStock/Getty Images Plus

National COYF cancelled for 2020

The national Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmer (COYF) event, previously scheduled to be held in Saskatoon in December this year, has been cancelled due to COVID-19. In a statement in the ‘Land Leader’, the official publication of the COYF program, Steve Cooper, the organization’s chair, said, “the Saskatchewan Hosting committee for the 2020 National Event advised […] Read more


(Conservative Party of Canada video screengrab via YouTube)

CPC leadership hopefuls list ending carbon tax as priority for agriculture

Party leadership candidates also look to strengthen trade relationships

Removing the carbon tax is the main priority for the two top Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leadership candidates, according to a recent survey. Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole, considered the front-runners in a small field of leadership hopefuls, listed eliminating the environmental policy in response to a series of questions posed to them by […] Read more

(Agr.gc.ca/eng/youth-in-agriculture)

Agricultural Youth Council members introduced

Jobs for next generation also come online

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has named the 25 young people chosen to sit on the inaugural Canadian Agricultural Youth Council. Members of the council (see list below) are expected to offer suggestions on government priorities and identify problems and solutions for Bibeau. “That was quite a challenge actually, because we received over 800 candidates,” Bibeau […] Read more



Steve Verheul, federal assistant deputy minister for trade policy and negotiations, speaks online to the Commons standing committee on international trade on July 9, 2020. (Video screengrab from Parlvu.parl.gc.ca)

Canada’s pace in trade talks with U.K. raising frustration

Doubts remain on potential benefits for Canadian farmers

The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) is expressing frustration over the pace at which Canada is engaging the United Kingdom toward a post-Brexit free trade deal. Steve Verheul, assistant deputy minister of trade policy and negotiations at Global Affairs Canada, told a parliamentary committee any deal between the two countries will be impacted by European […] Read more


(BriggsandStratton.com)

Briggs + Stratton filing for reorganization, courting buyers

Stalking-horse deal in place with private equity firm

U.S. outdoor power equipment maker Briggs + Stratton has locked in a stalking-horse buyer for its assets as it seeks a court-supervised reorganization. The Milwaukee-based company announced Monday it has a stock and asset purchase agreement in place with New York private equity firm KPS Capital Partners, best known as an investor in manufacturing companies. […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Feds proposing to expand wage subsidy program

Ottawa | Reuters — The Canadian government wants to expand an emergency wage subsidy program so that all businesses suffering losses from the COVID-19 outbreak will benefit, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Friday. Morneau told a news conference that Ottawa would drop an earlier requirement stipulating that businesses needed to show a 30 per […] Read more