Ag minister roundup

Ag minister roundup
Aug 21, 2025
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content, Farms.com

A brief look at what Canadian ag ministers are up to

With farmers busy enough as it is, it can be difficult to keep track of how some of Canada’s ag ministers are working to support producers and the industry overall.

With that at top of mind, Farms.com browsed online and social media to provide a brief roundup of what the federal ag minister and his provincial counterparts have been up to recently.

Beginning with Heath MacDonald, the federal minister, he’s meeting with one of his provincial colleagues to discuss a very important issue.

According to Sask. Premier Scott Moe’s X account, Minister MacDonald is meeting with the premier, provincial Agriculture Minister Daryl Harrison, and canola industry groups on Thursday about the Chinese tariff on canola seed.

A press conference is scheduled for after the meeting, Global News reports.

In Alberta, RJ Sigurdson, the minister of agriculture and irrigation, announced the first company to qualify for the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit (APITC)

That honour goes to Saputo after it invested more than $38 million in its facility in Edmonton.

Alberta’s government introduced the APITC in 2023 to support investment in the value-added agri-processing manufacturing sector.

Companies that invest $10 million or more can apply for a 12 per cent non-refundable tax credit after the work is completed.

Further west in B.C., Minister Lana Popham penned a letter in the Delta Optimist.

In her Aug. 17 letter, she encourages British Columbians to purchase made-in-B.C. products and says the provincial government is listening to the ag and food sectors, and developing solutions to counter these challenging times.

“This is one of the reasons why the Premier set up a task force on agriculture and the food economy earlier this year,” she wrote. “We are getting direct input from industry leaders on the best ways to help farmers, processors and everyone participating in the food and beverage economy. And we are putting their recommendations into action.”

Moving back east, Manitoba’s ag minister recently visited the U.S.,

Minister Ron Kostyshyn visited the Iowa State Fair where he chatted with local media about the importance of ag trade between Manitoba and Iowa.

“Manitoba pork exports 2 million weanlings on an annual basis here to Iowa,” the minister told the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network, adding that biosecurity is paramount, and the pork genetics from Manitoba have value-added opportunities.

And in Ontario, Minister Trevor Jones visited a local plowing match.

He recently took in the Hastings County Plowing Match, QuinteNews reported.

While there, the minister visited local farms to see how drought has affected crops in the area.

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