Canola tariffs sowing seeds of uncertainty for Canadian farmers

As farmers begin making plans planting crops, new tariffs on canola have them concerned about the future. CTV’s Dylan Dyson reports.

Canadian farmers are finding themselves caught in the middle of a trade war.

News retaliatory tariffs from China are the latest measure hitting Canada’s agriculture sector, with a 100 percent tariff now in place on canola.

Jennifer Doelman is one of the few canola farmers in eastern Ontario. Her crops aren’t even in the ground yet, having received her seeds on Thursday, and is already worried about selling it.

“It’s overwhelming. I think everybody is feeling that sense of overwhelm right now with everything that’s going on,” the grain and oilseed farmer tells CTV News.

The combination of tariffs means canola products coming out of Canada have lost 25 percent of its value, leaving Doelman and other family farms to consider their financial situations.

On top of 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian goods by the United States, it’s a double blow for farmers, with the U.S. and China being Canada’s top two trade partners when it comes to canola.

“We’re actually really close to $9 billion (in exports) to the United States and $5 billion of product to China. So, these are not small numbers, and it’s a big hit,” said Andre Harpe, chair of the Canadian Canola Growers Association.

“It’s just devastating because, one country, not great; two countries are absolutely terrible.”

And with crops going in the ground in a matter of weeks, it’s too late for many farmers to pivot this season to grow different products.

“It really presents uncertainty in the market,” said Jill Verwey, vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

“It presents situations where farmers have already maybe pre-purchased seed.”

“We still have to put crop in the ground and we’re still going to take it off,” added Doelman

“But now instead of it being a certain price, it’s going to be a lot lower because our two biggest customers are now affecting prices with tariffs.”

Ultimately, consumers will be the ones to pay as cost trickle down, though farmers will be bearing the burden of the costs up front.

The federal government says it has plans to support farmers but has not announced any concrete plans as of yet.

“There will have to be support packages available to make sure producers that are affected have that support federally,” added Verwey.