REGINA - Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is focused on a series of measures to support farmers in the wake of China’s new 75.8 per cent tariffs on canola seed.
In a post on the X platform Thursday, Prime Minister Carney posted that he had talked to Premier Scott Moe about the canola tariff situation the previous day.
Earlier this week at a news conference in Saskatoon, Moe had called on the federal government to provide financial assistance to canola producers. He also had called on the Feds to not sacrifice Western Canadian canola farmers to protect EV manufacturers in Eastern Canada.
Here is Carney’s post on the X platform:
“I spoke yesterday with @PremierScottMoe about China’s preliminary anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola seed. If maintained, these unjustified duties will have significant impacts on many Canadian farmers. Premier Moe and I focused on a series of measures to support hard-working farmers who provide world-class food to Canadians and our trading partners throughout the world.
“The Premier and I agreed to engage directly with industry leaders in the near term to discuss the options and to build on yesterday’s meetings of Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Minister of International Trade with many of our leading canola producers and exporters.
“Canada does not dump canola. Canadian canola products meet the highest standards, and our inspection systems are robust. We will advance a constructive dialogue with Chinese officials to address our respective trade concerns, while diversifying our trade abroad and supporting our canola producers at home.”
In his own post on the X platform, federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre had posted that Carney had failed on the issue. He called for action to open markets, support canola producers and cancel a billion dollar government loan for Chinese made ships.
“Canola producers are paying the price for Mark Carney’s latest failure on trade,” Poilievre posted.
Earlier on Thursday during an appearance Corman Park outside Saskatoon, Poilievre had accused Carney of not caring about the canola tariffs and for lacking a response.
“He hasn’t tweeted a single thing about canola,” said Poilievre. He later demanded the Prime Minister treat the prairie provinces with the respect it deserves.
“This Liberal government couldn’t care less about the West… the era of telling the West to pay up and shut up has got to come to an end.”
