CANOLA 101
A recent analysis conducted by GlobalData Plc on behalf of the Canola Council of Canada showed Canadian-grown canola generates $43.7 billion in economic activity in this country each year, including 206,000 jobs and $16.3 billion in wages. Here in Manitoba, canola contributes $6.7 billion and more than 35,000 jobs to the provincial economy on an annual basis.
family-owned farm near the town of Wawanesa and has grown canola since its introduction. Ellis says the threat tariffs pose to producers is two-fold. The risk of Chinese and U.S. tariffs has caused canola prices to drop dramatically, forcing producers to decide whether to hold on to the product they have in storage until prices rebound or sell it now at a deep discount. This spring, many farmers faced the critical decision of whether to plant canola or pivot to another crop that may pose less risk to their bottom line. “It’s just the uncertainty. You just don’t know if (tariffs) are going to be there. If the tariffs are going to be there, then we might not be able to move this stuff,” Ellis says.
situation. The U.S. president continues to shift course on tariff policy — announcing new measures, reversing them, introducing reciprocal tariffs and then pausing implementation — creating uncertainty for trading partners and businesses alike. Premier Wab Kinew said at the Royal Winter Fair exhibition in Brandon in the early spring that it’s not clear what happens next with this country’s largest trading partner. “Based on what we’ve seen so far, who’s to say he’s not going to change his mind an hour later or a day later or a month later,” Kinew said during a scrum with reporters. That uncertainty is concerning for producers like Warren Ellis, who operates a small
“It’s kind of amazing,” Ross Burtnack says. “We keep discovering new ways that canola has more and more benefits.” While the story of canola has been largely positive, there are concerns about its immediate future and the people who grow it. In March, China imposed retaliatory tariffs on $2.6-billion worth of agriculture and food products including a 100 per cent tariff on canola oil. That could have a huge impact on canola production here and in the rest of Canada, since China is the second largest importer of Canadian canola oil in the world. The ongoing trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. are further complicating the
25 SUMMER 2025
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