Northern Ontario canola farmers brace for 100 per cent tariffs from China

Faith Greco · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 20, 2025 5:59 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

Northern Ontario canola farmers are bracing for fiscal uncertainty arsenic China's 100 per cent tariffs connected Canadian canola lipid and repast instrumentality effect Thursday.

The determination is simply a nonstop effect to Canada's 100 per cent tariffs connected Chinese electrical vehicles and 25 per cent taxation connected aluminum and alloy products.

Will Runnalls, a canola husbandman adjacent New Liskeard and seat of Ontario's Canola Growers Association, says the interaction is already being felt.

"There already was a terms diminution and the longer it continues, farmers mightiness person issues adjacent selling their canola, going forward," helium said. 

Canola is Canada's 2nd largest acreage harvest with much than 21 cardinal acres produced annually, a national quality merchandise said. Canola repast exports to China made up $920.9 cardinal of Canada's system successful 2024 while canola lipid exports to China made up astir $21 million.

Canola is 1 of the apical 3 currency crops successful bluish Ontario, alongside soybeans and outpouring wheat, according to Runnalls. Most of the region's accumulation is concentrated successful the Temiskaming and Nipissing districts. 

While the caller tariffs are expected to deed occidental Canada hardest, wherever the harvest is chiefly grown, Ontario growers are not immune.

"In eastbound Canada, it's a smaller contented due to the fact that our acres are small, truthful astir of the by-products of canola repast and lipid are utilized wrong Canada oregon the United States," Runnalls said.

"The bigger contented would beryllium successful Western Canada, wherever there's upwards of 20 cardinal acres produced. All of that is exported either to the states oregon China. In Ontario, our terms is based disconnected the occidental price, truthful possibly we tin inactive merchantability it, but if the terms falls connected the West, it falls present arsenic well."

Farmers measurement their options amid uncertainty

Runnalls says the instability is forcing northern farmers to reconsider their harvest choices. In Temiskaming, galore growers person chopped their canola acreage by 60 per cent, switching to soybeans, which tin inactive beryllium exported to Asian markets similar Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

With the planting play approaching, immoderate farmers whitethorn inactive beryllium capable to set their plans, but others person nary prime but to determination forward.

"Most radical would person ordered their effect due to the fact that it has to beryllium processed and bagged, and they mightiness adjacent person transportation of it," Runnalls said. "Depending connected however it was purchased, they mightiness beryllium capable to instrumentality it. They mightiness not beryllium capable to."

The tariffs travel arsenic a nonstop effect to Canada imposing 100 per cent tariffs connected Chinese electrical vehicles, thing Runnalls says needs to beryllium resolved astatine the negotiating table.

"I think, you know, we person to get backmost to the negotiating table, and we request the export market," helium said. "There's been talks of fiscal support, but astir producers, we don't privation much loans. We request the export market. So we person to get backmost to the negotiating array and scope a solution."

He besides says Canada shouldn't conscionable absorption connected uncovering caller commercialized partners but enactment to repair its existing relationships.

"We tin bash marketplace diversification and find caller markets, but we person to, you know, support the aforesaid markets we have," Runnalls said. "Keep those relationships open, not conscionable spell look for a caller market."