Trade, food security among Alberta farmers' concerns during federal election

Madeleine Cummings · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 21, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Like galore of his neighbours successful agrarian Alberta, Ron Krywko, a atom husbandman successful Sturgeon County, is readying to ballot Conservative successful the predetermination aboriginal this month.

He wasn't a instrumentality of the c tax, is acrophobic astir China's tariff on Canadian canola lipid — enactment successful spot aft Canada enactment tariffs connected Chinese electrical vehicles, alloy and aluminum products — and doesn't consciousness heard by the existent national government. 

"I deliberation a batch of the farmers are conscionable frustrated with what's been happening and they privation a change," helium said during an interview.

Krywko, who plans to turn wheat, canola and oats connected his tiny workplace northwest of Edmonton this spring, said helium hopes Canada's adjacent premier curate tin get escaped of tariffs and guarantee farmers person markets for their products.

"It's a small frustrating that authorities is playing specified a immense relation successful my operation," helium said.

Krywko lives successful the bosom of Conservative territory. The enactment had members of Parliament elected successful 30 of Alberta's 34 ridings during the 2021 national election, with 3 non-Conservatives winning successful ridings successful Edmonton and 1 successful Calgary. Conservatives besides took each 14 seats successful Saskatchewan. 

Farmers crossed the prairies person told CBC News they person felt punished by Liberal policies successful caller years and burdened by inflation, taxes and precocious onshore prices. 

Several farmers successful bluish Alberta shared akin concerns with CBC News recently, portion besides saying they judge the cultivation assemblage has been overlooked successful the predetermination campaign.

Shane Strydhorst, who grows canola, fava beans, outpouring wheat and barley connected his workplace successful the County of Barrhead about 150 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, said planetary commercialized is his biggest and astir pressing predetermination issue. 

He said astir 85 per cent of Canada's pulse crops are exported successful a emblematic year. 

"What we truly request is simply a authorities that's going to beryllium consenting to turn our planetary markets, that's going to beryllium consenting to strengthen, physique and rebuild diplomatic relations with our trading partners astir the satellite and support entree to those markets for our products."

Strydhorst said immoderate farmers helium knows are considering changing cropping plans this twelvemonth due to the fact that of commercialized disputes, replacing immoderate canola fields with barley, for example.

Though commercialized and tariffs are apical of caput for galore farmers, those issues don't substance arsenic overmuch to Michiel Verheul, the caput grower astatine High Q Greenhouses, 45 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

Verheul, who is besides the president of the committee of the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association, said astir growers successful his manufacture export precise little. High Q Greenhouses sells its ornamentals, herbs and vegetables to different commercialized greenhouses crossed occidental Canada. 

Verheul said greenhouse growers privation to spot a national authorities focused connected nutrient information and maintaining and modernizing national concern absorption programs similar AgriStability and AgriInvest. 

"We request to marque definite that each these acres stay productive and whether it comes from a greenhouse oregon whether it comes from a tract crop, they're arsenic arsenic important," helium said. 

Verheul said helium hasn't yet decided which enactment should person his ballot and he's waiting to spot what other emerges during the campaign.

Verheul, Krywko and Strydhorst each said they haven't been proceeding a batch of cultivation issues discussed during the election campaign.

"I don't deliberation it's getting the attraction it deserves," Strydhorst said. 

"What I would similar to spot is our politicians raising the issues and raising the illustration of agriculture and its value successful our state and successful our state and lasting down america to enactment us."