Saskatchewan exports to China nosedive amid Ottawa’s tariff dispute with Beijing

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

REGINA — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is again facing calls to stand up for farmers after new figures shows exports from the province to China have drastically fallen.

The Statistics Canada data released this week comes amid a trade dispute where Beijing has slapped tariffs on Canadian canola products, widely seen in response to Canada’s 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles.

The data shows Saskatchewan exported $96 million in goods to China in August, a 76 per cent drop when compared with the same month last year.

About 60 per cent of the province’s exports to China are farming and food products, and the data shows they’ve been declining since June.

Opposition NDP trade critic Aleana Young says the drop could hit the province’s economy and job market.

She says Moe needs to take a stronger position by advocating to have the electric vehicle tariffs removed.

“(Moe) should be on the phone every single day with the prime minister of Canada, making the case that these tariffs need to come off to help Saskatchewan’s economy,” she told reporters Wednesday.

“People are worried about the impact that this is going to have on their ability to keep crop in the bin, what this will mean for next year and whether they’re going to be in a position to keep their family farms going.”

Moe had said he wanted Ottawa to do away with the electric vehicle tariff, but only if the country remained on good terms with the United States. He has since said removing it would not be a simple fix.

Canada had imposed the duty in lockstep with the United States, which also has a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. Canada has argued the measure is meant to protect the country’s automobile industry.

In September, Moe travelled to China with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s parliamentary secretary, Kody Blois. He had said the meetings were positive.

A statement from Moe’s office Wednesday says Ottawa and Beijing must continue to talk with one another.

“Saskatchewan will continue to call on the federal government to make this happen and remains ready to offer any insight or assistance if required,” it says.

The statement says the province has prioritized diversifying trade, with nearly $50 billion in goods exported annually over the past three years.

China, which is Saskatchewan’s second-largest export market, last year received nearly $4 billion in agriculture products from the province.

“Our government will always stand up for Saskatchewan producers and take no lessons from the NDP with their disastrous economic policies that would wreck our economy,” the statement says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2025.

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press