The byelection is scheduled for August 18.

Poilievre lost his long-time seat in Ontario’s Carleton riding in this spring’s federal election. Shortly after, Battle River-Crowfoot Conservative MP Damien C. Kurek announced he would resign so Poilievre could run for his seat.

Kurek had won his seat with nearly 83 per cent of the vote. He formally resigned on June 17.

“Pierre Poilievre is a man of principle, character, and is the hardest working MP I have ever met,” Kurek wrote in a social media post at the time. “His energy, passion and drive will have a huge benefit in east-central Alberta.”

Parliament is recessed for summer, and will resume on September 15.

The post Federal byelection called in Alberta’s Battle River-Crowfoot riding appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

Two reports from the university’s Simpson Centre, titled “Voices from the Field: The 2025 Federal Elections Project” outline the results of a national survey of 979 farmers, conducted with Stratus Ag Research. The results cover voting intentions and policy priorities among Canadian producers.

For more election coverage and analysis visit the Western Producer’s election page.

The results showed just under 70 per cent of surveyed producers said the Conservative Party best represents their interest. Those numbers are even higher in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The numbers from the survey differ from general election polls like Nanos and Canada388, which put Liberals at around 42 per cent of the popular vote and Conservatives around 39 per cent.

Support for the Liberal party showed mild division among farmers in the survey. The Liberals were the least favoured political part, with 34.2 per cent of farmers ranking them last. However, they were also second most favoured party, with 15.3 per cent of farmers’ vote.

Quebec was the main regional outlier where Conservatives ranked third among 103 respondents after the Bloc Quebecois and Liberals.

Farmers’ election priorities

Supply management protection was the top issue for Quebec farmers in this election. The Bloc has shown support for supply management, having promised to reintroduce a bill to protect it in their 2025 election platform.

For 79 per cent of respondents, the most important policy priority is trade and market access, followed by tax breaks and financial support at 58.8 per cent. Other issues like transport infrastructure, supply management protections and risk management were also top concerns.

On trade, producers supported strategies like diversifying export markets and expanding domestic processing. On taxation, they showed support for measures like fuel and energy exemptions and small business and corporate tax rate reductions.

Priorities varied by geography and commodity.

In British Columbia and Atlantic Canada, tax-breaks and financial support were the top priorities, while supply management protections topped the list in Quebec. In every other province, trade and market access was the top policy priority.

While trade and market access was the highest priority for field crop, vegetable crop, beef cattle and hog producers, tax breaks and financial support were the main issue for potato, greenhouse and orchard producers. For dairy and poulty/egg farmers, it was supply management protection.

According to the survey, nearly three quarters of producers did not feel agricultural interests are fairly represented in federal policies. Only 38.6 per cent expressed condifence in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and 62.5 per cent expressed little or no confidence in Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The post Survey says Conservatives farmers’ favourite but some divisions remain appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

The campaign ended on a somber note on Sunday after a man rammed an SUV through a crowd at a Filipino community festival in Vancouver, killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens.

Prime Minister Mark Carney briefly paused his campaign, and both he and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre mentioned the tragedy in their final campaign events. Duane Bratt, professor of political science at Calgary’s Mount Royal University, said he did not expect the mass casualty event to deter voters.

Carney’s Liberals held a 2.7-point lead over Poilievre’s Conservatives in national support, according to a CTV News-Globe and Mail-Nanos poll released on Sunday. Nanos put the Liberals at 42.6 per cent support and the Conservatives at 39.9 per cent, in the poll.

An EKOS poll on Sunday suggested the Liberals hold a six-point lead, and projected the Liberals to win a majority of seats in the 343-seat House of Commons and not need to rely on a smaller party to govern.

Trump renews ’51st state’ talk

Trump re-emerged as a campaign factor last week, declaring that he might raise a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian-made cars because the U.S. does not want them. He said earlier he might use “economic force” to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.

“This is probably the most consequential election in my lifetime,” said Kelly Saunders, a political science professor at Brandon University. “Everything has been so overshadowed by the threats coming out of the United States.”

Carney has emphasized his experience handling economic issues makes him the best leader to deal with Trump, while Poilievre has tapped into concerns about the cost of living, crime and a housing crisis.

Trump, in a social media post on Monday, reiterated his call for Canada to become the 51st state.

“Good luck to the Great people of Canada,” he said. “Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America. No more artificially drawn line from many years ago.”

Standing on Sunday in front of the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor’s Canadian auto hub with Detroit across the border, Carney pointed to the bridge as a symbol of peace and cooperation between the two countries for almost a century.

“That has changed, and it wasn’t us who did the changing … President Trump, the guy over there,” Carney said. “He’s launched a trade war that has literally ruptured the global economy, and in the process, he’s betrayed us.”

Poilievre has attracted more young voters than usual for the Conservatives, focusing his campaign more on living costs and crime.

“Time is running out, only one more day to bring home change so that Canadians can afford food and homes and live on safe streets,” Poilievre said at a rally in Oakville, Ontario on Sunday.

Carney has sought to distance himself from former Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was deeply unpopular when he said in January he would resign after nearly a decade in power. The Conservatives led polls by some 20 points around that time.

“I’m probably going to go Carney on this one just because right now, I feel like we need stability,” said Andy Hill, 37, a Vancouver-based mortgage broker and co-founder of mortgage marketplace EveryRate. “Being in the English banking system and being in the Canadian banking system, he really understands the economy.”

Bob Lowe, a 66-year-old cattle rancher who lives south of Calgary, said he has already cast his ballot for the Conservatives. He said his top concern is Canada’s flagging economic growth.

The economy had seen a fledgling recovery until the U.S. imposed tariffs.

Economic concerns also top of mind

Lowe said the Conservatives have focused on the economy all along, and that he believes the Liberals have been stoking Canadians’ anxieties about Trump to win another term.

“Poilievre has managed to keep the focus on the economy and a strong Canada, and Carney’s campaign is based on fear. That’s it in a nutshell,” Lowe said.

Saunders, however, predicts the Liberals will win a majority of electoral districts, called seats, and says it would take a “magical scenario” for the Conservatives to pull off a victory. Tensions with the U.S. have caused supporters of two smaller parties, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Quebecois, to shift to the Liberals.

A party needs to win 172 seats to form a majority government.

Much of the Conservative support is in rural areas where there are fewer seats.

Carney, who covered more than 20 cities in his last week of campaigning, has appeared tired but tried to maintain his exuberance at rallies, attended by 1,000 to 2,000 people, according to party figures.

Carney’s rallies have attracted mostly older Canadians and featured placards saying “Jamais Le 51” (“Never 51”) and “Un Canada Fort” (“A Strong Canada”).

Mentions of Trump have been loudly booed.

Poilievre’s rallies have been bigger and mentioned Trump less often.

Election results will trickle in, starting in eastern provinces, after polls close at staggered times on Monday evening. Ballots are counted by hand.

— Reporting by Rod Nickel and Promit Mukherjee in Ottawa, Nivedita Balu in Toronto and Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington.

The post Canadians go to the polls appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

“Other countries have recognized the opportunity that the organic sector has, both in terms of meeting some of their economic goals, some of their environmental and social goals, and they have invested significantly in the organic sector,” said My-Lien Bosch, government relations and regulatory affairs manager with the Canadian Organic Trade Alliance (COTA).

“In order for Canada to compete, we need to do that.”

Bosch spoke as part of an online panel discussion on the upcoming federal election, hosted by the Canadian Organic Alliance on March 27.

Election priorities

The Canadian Organic Alliance has identified two categories of election priorities, said Bosch: quick wins and catalytic investments.

Quick wins include an organic data strategy and a streamlined organic standards review process. It also included positive feedback from policymakers.

“We know that data is going to be able to unlock a lot of things that we can have to make decisions in our businesses, on our farms, and be able to help us plan for the future,” Bosch said.

In other countries, organic standards reviews are government funded, Bosch added, whereas in Canada organic groups have to advocate for government help every few years.

Catalytic investments, defined as “longer-term investments, balancing production and market growth, to grow the Canadian economy,” included an organic market development fund, which Bosch said has worked well in other countries to create a more stable market.

Ongoing research and support are also long-term needs.

Bosch added that other countries invest far more in their organic sectors than Canada does. She said for every dollar Canada invests, the U.S. invests eight dollars, and the EU invests 200 dollars.

“So absolutely this needs to step up,” she said.

Effects of tariffs on organic

Panelists also discussed the need for competitiveness and the potential to expand into other markets as tariffs threaten to disrupt Canadian trade with the U.S.

Canada trades $1.797 billion in organic goods to the U.S., said COTA executive director Tia Loftsgard. As of March 27, goods under CUSMA rule of origin regulations were excluded from tariffs.

The trade situation continues to evolve, however, and Canada and the U.S. are each other’s largest organic trading partners. The two countries have had a sixteen-year agreement organic equivalency agreement that has facilitated seamless trade, COTA’s website says.

“We certainly have been indicating that if we lose these markets, farmers will leave organic,” Loftsgard said, adding that it takes three years to transition farm production back once organic certification is lost.

Loftsgard said COTA is in regular communication with federal officials and has been told that they’ll continue to get updates despite the upcoming election.

The post Trade, competitiveness, investment among organic sector’s election priorities appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

An Angus Reid poll of 4,009 people, published in March, found that 29 per cent of Canadians want to eliminate supply management for dairy, eggs and poultry and 23 per cent want to maintain the system.

In between those options, about 26 per cent would reduce or remove it temporarily to help Canadians cope with inflation and the threat of American tariffs.

The remaining 22 per cent didn’t have enough knowledge to answer the question: what would you do with supply management?

“There are a lot of opinions on supply management. There are similar sized groups in all these different (sides) of the argument,” said Jon Roe, a research associate with Angus Reid in Calgary.

“It speaks to how difficult and complicated a system it is for a lot of Canadians to understand.”

Internal barriers to trade

Angus Reid surveyed Canadians and their perspectives on supply management as part of a larger poll on internal barriers to trade.

Interprovincial trade and reducing internal regulations has become a massive topic in 2025 and will be a major talking point in the federal election campaign that runs from March 23 to April 28.

“There should be one Canadian economy, not thirteen,” says a headline from www.markcarney.ca, the website for prime minister Mark Carney.

“Creating one Canadian economy will create higher paying jobs, improve affordability and strengthen our national security.

Angus Reid found that Canadians have strong feelings about regulations that prevent trade within the country:

• Sixty-two per cent of respondents said internal trade barriers limit competition and increase costs for consumers.
• Only 16 per cent said they’re necessary to protect local businesses.
• Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province where a significant number of respondents (37 per cent) said barriers are needed to protect local businesses.

The results are clear — most Canadians want to see interprovincial sales of alcohol and national standards for trucking regulations.

For a pollster such as Roe, it’s interesting that Canadians dislike internal barriers to trade and want them eliminated, but there is less urgency to get rid of supply management, a system that restricts trade and increases the price of milk, cheese and other products.

“Some people do view supply management as one of those trade barriers,” he said, but some do not.

Party lines

The Angus Reid survey also found that Bloq Quebecois voters are vocal supporters of supply management.

About 38 per cent would maintain the system and 10 per cent want it gone.

Conservative voters are more skeptical.

Nearly 50 per cent would eliminate the system for dairy, eggs and poultry production. Only 15 per cent would keep it as is.

Some Canadians want to talk about supply management and its role in interprovincial trade, but politicians do not.

In spite of the urgency to remove inter-provincial barriers to trade, dairy, eggs and poultry aren’t part of that conversation.

“It’s interesting because there isn’t really a party that is onboard with getting rid of supply management,” Roe said.

“It’s not something that any political party is discussing.”

The post Canadians agree on internal trade, less consensus on dairy appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

“This election comes at a pivotal moment for grain farmers,” said Kyle Larkin, executive director of GGC in a Monday news release. “Farmers are facing mounting challenges, and this campaign gives them a direct way to engage with their local candidates and understand where political parties stand on key issues affecting their operations.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Sunday that a federal general election would be held on April 28.

“This election—and the decisions made in the years to come—will determine the future of Canadian grain farming. Political parties need to understand what’s at stake and commit to supporting our sector,” said GGC chair of trade Tara Sawyer.

One of the main features of the campaign is an online tool which allows farmers to easily send written statements to their local candidates.

GGC has also compiled a guide outlining some of key issues facing grain farmers this election cycle. This includes policy like the right to repair, reinstating extended interswitching, reversing the capital gains tax increase and supporting tariff-free access of grain products.

On March 21, Carney announced the government would cancel a planned hike of the capital gains inclusion rate.

The website also breaks down which of the parties support, oppose or have an unclear stance on the various issues. GGC said it will continue to update the page as they send out a questionnaire to the parties to clarify their stance on unclear issues.

The post Grain Growers of Canada urges farmers to ‘Vote for Grain’ appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

He was expected to announce that on Sunday, the report said.

Liberal Party sources had told Reuters Carney would call an election soon after he won the party race to replace Justin Trudeau on March 9, seeking a strong mandate during turbulent time as relations with the neighboring U.S. deteriorate.

Although the next election was not due until October 20, Carney is hoping to capitalize on a remarkable recovery by his Liberal Party in polls since January, when U.S. President Donald Trump began threatening Canada and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation.

Carney, a former two-time central banker with no previous political or election campaign experience, captured the Liberal leadership two weeks ago by persuading party members he was the best person to take on Trump.

Carney has yet to speak to Trump or lay out detailed plans on how he would deal with tariffs, which could badly hurt the Canadian economy. He has though sought to lower the temperature, telling reporters that he respects what Trump is trying to do.

Carney will campaign against Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, a seasoned politician.

The conservatives had enjoyed a wide lead in polls until Trudeau resigned in January after more than nine years in office, facing plummeting personal approval ratings.

The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment outside regular business hours.

—Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru

The post Canada PM Carney to call for April 28 election on Sunday, Globe and Mail reports appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

Thursday evening’s debate, hosted by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, had plenty of discussion about climate change and how best to support producers in a changing environment.

Liberal candidate and Canada’s incumbent agriculture minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau, leaned on the small gains her government has made in AgriStability during the first round of questions, in which each partyt’s representative to consider how they would approach the next federal/provincial agricultural policy framework.

Negotiations for a new framework will be a key priority for the next government’s agriculture minister, as the current agreement expires in 2023.

Under Bibeau’s leadership, provinces agreed with Ottawa to remove the reference margin limit from AgriStability, but prospects for further short-term changes remain dim as provincial governments in Western Canada continue to consider other program options.

“We are waiting on the conservative provincial governments to make it happen,” Bibeau said early in the debate, adding she wants to introduce “climate risk” into business risk management (BRM) programming to “meet the new reality.”

“These programs can be improved and take into consideration climate risk, this is the conversation that has already started with my provincial colleagues and the industry,” she said

Conservative candidate Dave Epp, running for re-election in Ontario’s Chatham-Kent-Leamington riding, countered Bibeau by arguing the current Liberal approach to BRM programming is too much “Ottawa knows best” and not enough of a partnership with the industry.

Alistair MacGregor, a long-time member of Parliament’s agricultural committee and the incumbent in British Columbia’s Cowichan-Malahat-Langford riding, repeated his oft-used call for programming built around resiliency.

“We know that this next century, climate change is going to be a huge factor,” he said. “The next agricultural policy framework, in discussion with the provinces, is really going to have to center on how we manage the risk from climate change.”

Bibeau jumped on an opportunity to point out the last Conservative government reduced BRM funding before challenging Epp to say how much a Conservative government would invest if elected.

Epp responded by saying the provinces have been the ones to lead throughout the ongoing drought and other challenges. He accused Bibeau of dropping her AgriStability proposal on provinces with no warning “at the 11th hour” and “on the eve of an unnecessary election.”

He said it was the leadership of provinces that resulted in drought-specific relief being brought forward, and accused Bibeau’s government of moving slowly on promised reforms.

“The review of the BRM program promised is still not done,” he said.

Bloc Quebecois representative Yves Perron, again seeking to be the Berthier-Maskinonge MP, called on Bibeau to accept a proposal from Quebec farm groups and move forward with changes to AgriStability solely alongside the provinces willing to do so.

Bibeau responded by again blaming conservative governments, arguing federal programs need to be applied across Canada.

During a debate on threats to the food production sector and how to address them, Epp pointed to labour as a big issue.

Bibeau said her government plans to reduce red tape for good employers and allow for more mobility of employees, while strengthening regional supply chains, to address ongoing challenges.

“The labour shortage is definitely a very big issue right now, it’s what I hear about in the field,” she said.

MacGregor said processing capacity is a challenge, and one where parties have already found common, multipartisan ground to stand on.

“One of the biggest threats, particularly with meat processing, is in many cases we’ve put all of our eggs in one basket,” he said, citing a federal report saying processing plants should be expanded and diversified.

Each candidate offered a commitment to putting in place a Grocery Code of Conduct, something called for during the pandemic as grocers imposed new fees on manufacturers and producers.

Five companies run 80 per cent of grocery sales, and MacGregor said hidden fees from those major retailers is a problem he hears about often.

“We absolutely need to level the playing field,” he said.

Bibeau said the conduct was a “key piece of the puzzle” and said plans for developing a voluntary code are already underway.

Epp contended that wouldn’t do.

“It needs teeth,” he said. “There must be teeth and adherence to the code in order for it to be effective, that’s what I’m hearing from industry.”

When debate turned specifically to the environment, Bibeau again looked to lean on her government’s track record of investing in a green economy. The most recent investment, made during the 2020 budget, received mostly positive reviews from industry.

But Epp argued the industry “will respond better to incentives, than to the stick” in a shot at the Liberals much-critiqued carbon levy.

“The top-down approach doesn’t work, we need further collaboration with our producer groups,” he said.

MacGregor said that where no alternatives exist, producers should be offered exemptions from paying carbon fees, but said, “We have to understand there are opportunities to help farmers transition.”

A brief debate on supply management resulted in each candidate agreeing they support the policy but squabbling over efficiency in payments to producers who lost market share as a result of recently signed trade deals.

There was equal agreement on the need to modernize the Canada Grain Act and introduce reforms to allow for easier intergenerational farm transfers. Each candidate also committed to being more assertive in international trade.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

The post Federal support for farmers focus of ag leaders’ debate appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

These days, the way to a Liberal or NDP MP’s heart seems to be through his or her environmental priorities. The beef industry has been having a rough time in the press, but Canadian beef producers have a good environmental story to tell. Grasslands and forage stands sequester carbon and provide habitat for everything from birds to moose. The species in these habitats have evolved alongside ruminant grazers, and grazing is necessary to maintain the health of those ecosystems. Many producers are motivated to not only maintain the health of their land, but improve it.

There are a couple of things that strengthen the beef industry’s ability to position itself as friend, not foe, of the environment. One is the ongoing research and extension into everything from carbon sequestration to feed efficiency. I know I am preaching to the converted here, but it’s worth stating that beef producers are raising more pounds of beef with fewer resources than in decades past, due to all sorts of incremental genetic and management changes, all while preserving land that is sequestering carbon.

It also helps that beef producers now have some environmentalists in their corner. For example, Karla Guyn, CEO of Ducks Unlimited, has publicly extolled the environmental benefits of beef production. And Dr. Christian Artuso, Manitoba projects manager for Bird Studies Canada, has publicly talked about how he turned away from a vegetarian diet once he realized that beef producers protect wildlife habitat.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) is also working to establish new relationships with environmentalists, notably Steve Lee. Lee is executive director for the Foundation for Environmental Stewardship, which created the Three Percent Project. People with the Three Percent Project are travelling to Canadian schools to talk about how students can offset climate change. The CCA provided information on sustainable beef production to Lee and also arranged for him to visit several beef operations in different provinces. It will be interesting to see where this goes in the long term.

As a bit of an aside, you’ve likely noticed that animal rights activists have been using environmental issues as part of their argument against raising livestock. Being able to inject a little logic into that debate is helpful, too.

Of course, beef producers have other concerns that they want government to address. Regulatory burden is one. The new National Beef Strategy is calling for a “one-for-one” regulatory approach, which means that every time the government introduces a new regulation, it will remove one. The idea is that such an approach makes policy makers think carefully before they introduce new regulations and take a closer look at alternatives to regulations.

Personally, I think this makes a lot of sense and it’s an approach I wish political leaders at all levels of governments would adopt. We all need to direct our time and resources at the important issues and stop sweating the small stuff. One sticking point, I suppose, is agreeing on what the big and the small stuff is. The other is the momentum behind creating more regulations in this country, which becomes a big problem for exporting industries.

“Regulatory creep at a time when the United States, a major competitor, is reducing regulatory burden is a concern for future competitiveness,” states the strategy.

The National Beef Strategy is also calling for a science-based regulatory system that is more outcome- based than prescriptive. For example, it recommends studying which parts of the beef industry are most at risk for antimicrobial resistance, with the overall goal of making sure the industry still has access to antimicrobials in the future. It calls for streamlined approval of new forage and grain varieties, as well as inputs and biotechnology. It raises concerns about the pending changes to transportation regulations.

The beef industry may find some support from the NDP in business risk management reforms. In an article published in The Western Producer before the election, Alistair MacGregor, ag critic at the time, stated that the NDP wanted to review business risk management programs and push for more flexible programs that better respond to increasing global market and climate change risk. Better business risk management and livestock tax deferral programs are also part of the National Beef Strategy, and market volatility and “varying climatic conditions” are two of the risks listed by the report’s authors. There is a possibility that everyone could get on the same page on this issue.

It will also be worth reminding the NDP that the overwhelming majority of beef operations are run by families, just in case they have any ideas about factory farming.

No doubt the national cattle groups have a tough slog ahead of them on many issues, but the industry is positioned to make gains on some issues. I think cautious optimism, working with others and relentless logic will be the keys to seeing some success.

The post Comment: Another federal election in the books appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

As of about 2 a.m. CT on Tuesday, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals held onto power in a minority government with 157 of 338 seats, ahead of Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives with 121, Yves-Francois Blanchet’s Bloc Quebecois with 32, Jagmeet Singh’s New Democrats with 24 and Elizabeth May’s Greens with three, plus one independent, former Liberal MP Jody Wilson-Raybould.

Trudeau’s agriculture minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau, held her Quebec riding of Compton-Stanstead on Monday night against Bloc Quebecois challenger David Benoit by a spread of 3,043 votes with all polls reporting.

Bibeau’s challengers in the 2019 contest also included one of the Green Party’s non-sitting agriculture critics, Jean Rousseau. He had served previously as the riding’s NDP MP from 2011 to 2015 but finished in fifth place for the Greens on Monday night.

Scheer’s incumbent agriculture critic, Luc Berthold, easily held his Quebec riding of Megantic-L’Erable against Bloc challenger Priscilla Corbeil by a spread of just over 11,000 votes with 232 of 233 polls reporting.

The Bloc Quebecois’ incumbent agriculture and labour critic and party whip, Simon Marcil, also easily hung onto his seat Monday night in the riding of Mirabel, 13,700 votes ahead of Liberal challenger Karl Trudel with 202 of 242 polls reporting.

Singh’s incumbent agriculture critic, Alistair MacGregor, also held onto his Vancouver Island riding, Cowichan-Malahat-Langford, by a spread of 6,639 votes over Conservative challenger Alana DeLong, with all polls reporting.

The Green Party’s other non-sitting agriculture critic, Kate Storey, came in fourth in her western Manitoba riding of Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa against Conservative candidate Dan Mazier, a former president of provincial general farm organization Keystone Agricultural Producers.

Other incumbents who have previously handled the ag file and are returning to the Commons include former Liberal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay, the Liberals’ former Parliamentary secretary for agriculture Wayne Easter, and former Conservative associate ag critic John Barlow.

The Liberals’ reduction to minority government status might not necessarily complicate the party’s stated plans for the agriculture and agri-food file.

Those include a review of business risk management programs; increased support for farmers against “risks beyond their control;” and an “expanded and enhanced” role and mandate for Farm Credit Canada.

The New Democrats, with whom the Liberals would be expected to partner in order to pass legislation in the Commons, put forward ag policy goals including further compensation to supply-managed sectors for loss of market share to international trade deals; defending Canadian ag exports against trade retaliation such as China’s; support for public ag research; and providing low-cost start-up loans for new farmers.

The NDP also proposed developing “a national strategy to address mental health challenges facing farmers.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Voters return Canada’s agriculture minister, ag critics appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.