China’s canola tariffs show how Ottawa’s choices can cripple Canadian agriculture.
Farmers can handle a lot, from droughts to floods, rising input costs, and volatile markets. We manage risk for a living. But there’s one threat we can’t outwork, outsmart, or insure against: our own government’s policies. It doesn’t have to be this way—government policy could be-should be-one of our greatest assets.
Farmers used to worry far more about other matters in the past: weather, markets, input prices, even labour. Obviously, these are all critical drivers of our income year to year, and how we manage these determines our long-term success in this business.
Risks We Can Control
That last point is key—those are manageable pieces of our business. I can manage labour challenges. I can manage input and capital costs to keep my costs low. Careful, strategic management of these factors can make a tremendous difference to farm profitability over time.
I can also buy insurance to protect me against a bad year, or maybe two (some farmers in long-term droughts would rightfully insist that insurance only goes so far). Some insurance can even protect revenue itself, which also helps with commodity price collapses. I can also pre-sell crops, sometimes with production contracts that give me an out for bad weather, and some on futures markets that don’t commit me to physical sales.
There is a lot I can at least partially control. The more I manage my risk, the better my farm is likely to perform across decades.
Government policy, though, is not controllable. It is not predictable. Increasingly, it is not rational. And it is incredibly impactful.
Chinese Tariffs: A Critical Blow
On August 12, 2025, China announced they would be imposing a 75.8 percent duty on Canadian canola seed imports, effective August 14th. This isn’t their first attack on Canadian canola: on March 20, 2025, China also slapped a 100 percent tariff on Canadian canola oil and meal. These two actions essentially close the door on this market.
What’s the impact? In 2024, we exported $4.9 billion worth of canola, including seed, oil, and meal, to China. This is a critically important market. And let’s not forget the serious impact on peas, pork, and other products China has targeted. It isn’t just canola.
The Real Reason Behind China’s Move
Why is China doing this? Oh, there’s some claimed “dumping” of canola into Chinese markets and subsidies to Canadian farmers from our government. But that is simply an excuse. Canadian farmers are subsidized far less than many other countries, including most European countries and the United States.
The real reason is because Canada imposed a 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles in October of 2024. This was supposedly done to protect Canada’s auto industry. China is striking back to pressure the Canadian government.
Ottawa’s Choices Matter
The federal government made a choice last October and continues to make the same choice today: sacrifice Western Canada for Eastern Canada. The auto industry is a key source of votes in the East. The West is not.
The canola industry is worth $43 to $45 billion, employing 200,000 people. It alone, without considering any of the other crops we grow out West, is significantly larger than steel, aluminum, and auto manufacturing combined.
This doesn’t need to be a competition, though. Every industry in Canada is essential to its short and long-term prosperity. All we’re asking is to be treated equally —to be offered the same level of support and attention the auto industry gets when trade barriers arise.
Doesn’t the Canadian Government Already Support Farmers?
Our federal and provincial governments cost share part of the cost of our crop insurance system. They also provide a revenue stabilization insurance product called AgriStability, which recently got a couple of needed improvements. Obviously, crop insurance doesn’t protect farmers against commodity price collapse, as that is a yield protection product only.
AgriStability does – but its support levels are so far below profitability that farmers are losing a lot of money before it kicks in. And that is a common misconception: AgriStability cannot help us in this situation, not really. What the loss of the Chinese market does is remove our profit margin. AgiStability will not kick in to protect a profit, only reducing losses. This product cannot help us here.
Farmers are bearing the burden of government policy protecting one industry to spite another–one that’s orders of magnitude larger. We have spent the money on this crop. Our investment is in. The fertilizer, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides are applied. The fuel is burned, the machinery used. And now, on the brink of harvest, we just lost our profit margin on one of our most important crops.
China knows exactly what it’s doing. They knew how to hit us where and when it hurts the most. But are they overestimating how interested our federal government is in doing something about it?
This is Far Bigger than Farmers
This action by China isn’t just an attack on farmers—it’s an attack on all of Canada. This affects everyone, all across this country.
The policies our governments, federally and provincially, put in place have an enormous impact on our livelihoods. From investment in crop breeding and infrastructure, to developing and maintaining trade agreements and market access, to providing insurance backstops, government policy matters.
Something Must Change
It’s time for our government to stop biting the hand that feeds it. It’s time to recognize the enormity of the Canadian agriculture. The success of farmers across this country drives the prosperity of millions of Canadians. Yet, time and again, the government enacts policies that actively damage agriculture. From ill-conceived climate policy, to falling investment in critical Agriculture Canada breeding programs, to repeated diplomatic blunders that alienate key export markets. Something must change.
Agriculture is one of Canada’s largest industries, providing 8 percent of GDP and one in eight jobs. It could be one of Canada’s crown jewels—a target for strategic investment and clear, consistent policy to ensure success for generations. Government policy can, should, must be an asset to Canadian farmers, not a burden.
Something must change. Canadians, if there ever was a time to talk to your MP’s and tell them why agriculture matters, it’s now.
WELL SAID Jake
Very well explained and laid out. All Canadians should read this. Good job Jake!
I agree completely with you Jake… the reds need to drop the tariff on Chinese electric vehicles …. But the root of this East West inequity is our electoral system … more western voters must lend their support to the movement (Fair Vote Canada) to convince our politicians to form a non-partisan citizens assembly to make recommendations for changes to our electoral system for a more democratic , more representative one that would give western Canada more influence on the federal government.
Great article Jake, worth the read by all, not just farmers.
Gee Jake I find your in depth discussion on policies affecting agriculture extremely interesting and detailed! However I definitely remember about almost 20 years ago you and many who are praising your scripture here about getting Ottawa to understand Western Canadian Agriculture! That you folks worked tirelessly to get The Federal Government out of your face! If I correctly remember your rhetoric it went something like: Us western Canadian Farmers are much more smarter then our forefathers, we have computers and cell phones so we can MARKET our own crops, we don’t need the federal Government trying to market our crops! Well as an old timer said at one of those very loud and noisy meetings “ careful boys what you are asking for, because you just might get it!” So do you make the connection? You weren’t/aren’t marketing, you’re simply pricing! Cause marketing involves a whole lot more then pegging a price in an over- priced market!
So that’s all for now but I’ll explain more in a day or too in what good marketing could and should protect you from!
Micheal Halyk, Yorkton Sask.
Hi Michael, thanks for the comment and the many years of reading. It wouldn’t quite have been 20 years ago – I haven’t been writing that long! I think my point still holds – we do know how to manage and market our crops. If the government stops getting in our way with misplaced policies that directly harm our trading relationships.
Thanks for breaking this down so there’s nobody saying they don’t understand what’s happened. We also farm and we’re looking forward to harvest and now are getting ready to go into survival mode and this should be the best time of year. The load just gets bigger and our shoulders just have to bear more and more. Still gotta get the job at hand done regardless of this current problem and get it safely in the bin. Be safe and keep God involved only He can make what seems like impossible still work out. Have a safe harvest.
Well written!!