Moe says urgent federal action needed before election call to ensure canola industry 'not left in purgatory'

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 13, 2025 6:16 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says Canada's incoming premier curate needs to instantly and urgently negociate a mode to debar China's planned tariffs connected Canadian canola — even earlier an predetermination call.

Prime minister-designate Mark Carney and his furniture volition beryllium sworn successful Friday aft his caller triumph successful the Liberal enactment race.

Carney is expected to telephone an predetermination earlier Parliament resumes connected March 24. If that happens, Canadians volition apt caput to the polls successful precocious April oregon aboriginal May.

Moe said connected Thursday that engagement with China needs to hap earlier immoderate predetermination to guarantee that the canola manufacture "is not near successful purgatory" during a campaign.

China has announced it intends to enactment 100 per cent retaliatory tariffs connected canola lipid and canola meal, arsenic good arsenic tariffs connected different Canadian goods similar seafood and pork, connected Mar. 20 successful effect to Canada's 100 per cent tariffs connected Chinese-made electrical vehicles and a 25 per cent levy connected Chinese aluminum and alloy products imposed connected Oct. 1.

Moe said China's tariffs would "decimate" the canola manufacture successful Saskatchewan "in a substance of a fig of weeks, not months."

On Thursday, Moe said closed canola crushing facilities crossed Canada, including Saskatchewan, would beryllium the Liberals' bequest "to wear" passim the predetermination campaign.

He said determination would beryllium impermanent occupation nonaccomplishment astatine those plants, but besides an "incredible" nonaccomplishment of markets that would person adjacent person much impact.

"They were incredibly hard to physique successful the archetypal spot and they're going to beryllium incredibly hard to regain," helium said.

"So I don't cognize that those jobs volition instantly travel back."

On Thursday, Moe reiterated his assertion that nary 1 successful Canada is buying EVs from China.

Moe said the Liberal authorities needs to amusement a awesome to the China's government that it is acceptable to negociate and to find a way to a non-tariff environment.

This week, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne told CTV News the national authorities has nary volition of dropping the tariffs connected China's EVs.

Moe besides expressed disappointment that Carney's archetypal planned planetary sojourn arsenic premier curate is to the European Union.

"Not good, not good. We don't person a commercialized warfare with the European Union today," Moe said, adding Canada is successful a commercialized warfare with the 2 largest economies successful the satellite and its 2 largest export markets and trading partners.

"To take to spell to the European Union is beyond what I could recognize arsenic being successful immoderate mode impactful oregon representing Canadians," helium said.

Moe said he's urging Carney to reconsider that plan, and to archetypal engage with the Chinese authorities and program however helium is going to prosecute with the U.S. Moe said that program should not see export tariffs.

Moe noted Champagne, national Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were successful Washington, D.C., connected Thursday to conscionable with U.S. officials astir American tariffs connected Canadian goods, adding helium encourages much of that benignant of engagement.