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A business commentator sees it as a positive sign for the canola sector that Premier Scott Moe is joining Prime Minister Mark Carney for meetings in China this week.
“The fact that the premier is on there, is going on this mission, I think, shouldn’t be lost on Saskatchewan people,” Paul Martin, business analyst for 980 CJME and 650 CKOM, said on Saskatchewan Afternoon Tuesday.
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Listen here for the full interview:
Martin explained there are two main trade issues between the two countries: electric vehicles (EV) and canola; and only a premier advocating for canola will be on the trip.
The nearly 76-per cent tariff China put on imports of Canadian canola in 2025, along with a 100-per cent levy on canola oil and meal as well as peas, are widely seen as retaliation for Canada’s tariffs on EVs.
“From a Canadian perspective, the most important position worth defending would appear to be the canola side, the agriculture side, rather than the EV side,” he said. “Because, I mean, the EV business just isn’t working in the country.
“If I’m the premier of Ontario right now, I’m saying how I’ve got nothing to defend when I go to China, and I’m not going on this mission, but Saskatchewan is and they’ve got the upper hand, if I could put it that way. They’ve got the stronger argument to be made.”
A news release from the Government of Saskatchewan on Monday said the purpose of Moe’s visit was to build and strengthen ties “with an emphasis on trade, investment and long-term engagement.”
Martin doesn’t expect any changes to happen this week, but suggested something might eventually come out of a preliminary conversation, perhaps in weeks.
“The fact that the Chinese are prepared to discuss it says something to me, and it may be that canola doesn’t move until we do something on the auto side in Ontario and/or those EV things,” he said.
“If the Chinese are willing to listen to us and move even a little bit, I think you have to say, yeah, that’s good for us.”
Carney’s visit, scheduled for Jan. 13 to 17, is the first by a Canadian prime minister since 2017. His office said the trip will include meetings with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and other government and business leaders.
