Murray Wood: What happened to basic manners?
At the risk of sounding old fashioned, Murray Wood is questioning the manners of some of the people he meets. He says pe...
A new poll suggests that the majority of Canadians favour cutting the tariff Ottawa has imposed on Chinese electric vehicles if it means relief from tariff China has slapped onto Canadian canola imports.
In poll, published on Thursday by the Angus Reid Institute, 57 per cent of respondents said they would support lowering Canada’s 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-manufactured EVs if it would help secure a better deal for canola producers, who are facing a 76 per cent tariff from China. Just 24 per cent said they would prefer to see Canada’s maintain its current tariff rates.
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“These two dueling priorities are contentious, as the canola market is of key import to Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba, with $14.5 billion in exports in 2024, while the EV market has received billions in federal funding as a strategic sector going forward,” the nonprofit think tank explained in a statement.
Unsurprisingly, support for cuts to the EV tariff was highest in Saskatchewan (68 per cent), where the majority of Canada’s canola crops are grown. Manitoba and Alberta, which also produce canola, had the second- and third-highest levels of support at 61 and 60 per cent, respectively.
NDP voters were most likely to support a cut to Canada’s EV tariffs (64 per cent), compared to 64 per cent support among Liberal voters and 52 per cent support among Conservatives.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has called for Ottawa to remove the tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. Moe recently returned from a trade mission to China – the second-largest importer of Canadian canola products after the United States – where he met with Chinese officials and advocated for Canadian canola producers. The premier also met with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday to discuss issues around tariffs and trade.
Earlier this month, Carney pledged to support the canola industry with $370 million in new incentives.
Bill Prybylski, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, said he welcomed the help from Ottawa, but noted that the most important thing for producers is to get the Chinese tariffs dropped altogether.
“We’re looking at a lot of financial hurt on farms,” he said.
“We just want to see the same type of consideration other industries are getting.”
Prybylski also called for federal assistance for pulse producers, who have also been hit hard by trade disruptions.
The online poll surveyed a randomized sample of 4,330 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.
The full results of the poll can be found on the think tank’s website.
–with files from The Canadian Press
