Canada and China have struck a preliminary deal to eliminate tariffs on canola meal and peas, an agreement Premier Scott Moe said was made possible through the efforts of Prime Minister Mark Carney and will benefit Saskatchewan producers and the wider Canadian economy.
At a news conference at the University of Saskatchewan on Tuesday, Moe unveiled the agreement alongside provincial ministers of agriculture and trade and export development and representatives from industry stakeholder groups.
“This agreement with China is one of the strongest agreements that I have seen in my elected time,” Moe told reporters.
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“This is, make no mistake, a positive agreement for the Saskatchewan agriculture industry — as we produce about 55 per cent of the canola production in this nation,” he said.
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He said the agreement will be significant to Saskatchewan farmers, exporters, and to the processing workers in the province. “This is an industry. Canola alone employs over 200,000 people across Canada. It is a $44-billion industry,” the premier said.
Moe said he credits Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal government, which he “hasn’t done a lot of in the last decade.”
“He engaged earnestly, with at all levels of the Chinese government.”
Former Regina Liberal MP Ralph Goodale who recently retired after serving 26 years in parliament told Global News he believes it was “absolutely essential” for Carney to pivot towards a trade deal with China.
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“We need to work very hard to try to rebuild our relationship with the United States, but at the same time, build our own economy, become our own best market, and work on every other conceivable market all around the world,” Goodale said.
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He added that Canada needs to diversify its trading relationships with China, the U.K., Europe and the Asia Pacific region.
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“And for Saskatchewan — for canola, peas, and beef — the Chinese market is extremely important.” On Monday, China lifted its ban on Canadian beef imports after an atypical case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy — known as BSE or mad cow disease — was found on an Alberta farm in 2021.
On Friday, Carney touted a renewed relationship with China and “enormous progress” on trade irritants as he announced a new deal with Beijing on electric vehicles and canola at the end of a high-profile trip to China.
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Prairie premiers and farm groups welcomed the drop in tariffs on some agricultural products.
The deal, made public shortly after Carney met with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, marks a de-escalation in tensions with a country the Liberal government branded as a disruptive power just three years ago.
Carney distanced himself from that description on Friday, noting he was not part of the government that used the term in Canada’s 2022 Indo-Pacific strategy.
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Agriculture minister says first canola seed and beef shipments to China expected soon
Federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald said Tuesday China is moving quickly to import Canadian canola and beef after Ottawa’s deal with Beijing.
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MacDonald told reporters in Ottawa a Chinese importer has ordered 60,000 metric tonnes of canola seed, and he’s aware of a company shipping its first load of Canadian beef to China next week.
It’s expected be the first time China has purchased Canadian canola seed and beef since it imposed measures to block the products.
“That’s how quickly this whole process has taken place,” MacDonald said. “When the door opened, it opened.”
MacDonald made the comments while announcing Ottawa is beginning a round of consultations on a new agreement that will provide funding and programming to the agriculture sector in 2028 and beyond.
Canada’s farmers and food processors contribute $150 billion, or 7 per cent, to the country’s GDP each year, he added.
The Canadian Cattle Association welcomed the news of access to China being restored.
“We are pleased to see renewed access into China, one of the largest export markets for beef. Every market matters to Canadian beef farmers and ranchers; it supports our industry’s resilience and growth,” Tyler Fulton, the association’s president, said in a statement.
MacDonald said there’s more work to do on Canadian pork, which continues to face Chinese tariffs.
“We need to further identify the situation with China to ensure that we’re meeting their demands and they’re meeting our demands,” he said.
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The tariff changes are expected to come into force by March 1.
–with files form The Canadian Press
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