Sask. NDP calls on province to stand up for canola producers amid tariff conflict

Canola plants bloom in a pasture on a farm near Cremona, Alta., Friday, July 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Saskatchewan’s NDP Opposition is calling on the province to stand up for canola producers amid an ongoing trade war with China.

In a letter penned to Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe on Tuesday, NDP MLA Aleana Young called on the premier to act on what she called “the urgent matter of Chinese tariffs on Saskatchewan agricultural products.”

According to the NDP, the Chinese tariffs on agricultural products including canola, peas, and pork, are a result of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, something the NDP says the Chinese ambassador made clear last weekend.

The NDP claims that following his trip to China, Moe “backtracked” on eliminating the EV tariff, by maintaining that it is not a straightforward solution.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Government of Saskatchewan said on the day China announced it would be implementing tariffs on canola, Premier Moe immediately called on the federal government to drop the EV tariffs.

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“We have been consistent in our call to the federal government to remove tariffs on EVs and to negotiate a deal with China,” the statement read.

The premier accompanied a delegation to China to seek an end or reduction in tariffs on Canadian goods.

“Ultimately, this engagement must continue at the federal level between the governments of Canada and China,” the province’s statement read. “Saskatchewan will continue to call on the federal government to urgently make this happen and remains ready to offer assistance.”

The NDP provided another statement on the issue on Wednesday, saying that Premier Moe’s “flip flop” on trade and Chinese EVs is a “betrayal of Saskatchewan producers.”

The NDP referenced a report from Statistics Canada from earlier in the month that shows merchandise exports from Saskatchewan to China have dropped 35.8 per cent year-to-date and dropped 76.5 per cent in August 2025 when compared with August 2024.