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鈥淔or a large part of Saskatchewan, the farm economy has been driven by canola,鈥� Rigetti, a director with SaskOilseeds, says in an interview on her land near Moose Jaw.

鈥淚t feels personal when people come after canola, just because it鈥檚 such a Canadian story, such a western Canadian story, such a Saskatchewan story and such a story that’s right here on my farm.”

China hit Canadian farmers with 100 per cent tariffs on canola oil, canola meal and peas in retaliation to Canada slapping Beijing with levies on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum.聽

Producers are also caught with uncertainty around U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 tariffs. Trump has imposed levies on Canadian aluminum, steel and automobiles, while musing about applying additional duties.聽

Products that fall within the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement, including agricultural and energy goods, are not subject to U.S. tariffs. Canada has retaliated with countermeasures.

Rigetti has the TV news on in her living room. She says she鈥檚 been watching it more often to keep up with the latest developments.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen challenges before, but we鈥檝e never been in the crosshairs between our two biggest trading partners,” she says.

She pulls out a book of her family history, flipping to a page with an image of a combine picking up canola swaths. Underneath, an excerpt reads, “The new crop that changes everything.”

Canola is a portmanteau word combining Canada and ola, which means oil. Saskatchewan and Manitoba researchers developed the crop in the 1970s to address erucic acid issues in its predecessor, rapeseed.聽

Canola is used for cooking oil, high-protein animal feed and biodiesel. The crop’s development led to the boon it is today for farmers鈥� pocketbooks, with more than half of it grown in Saskatchewan.

In Rigetti’s yard, there are massive steel bins where her husband and son empty dark brown canola seeds into a truck. They’re off to deliver the product to a grain terminal.

Rigetti says her son will plant his first field of canola this year.

鈥淲e have to be careful to keep things in perspective and not scare our kids,” she says.

“I do try to keep the focus on what we can actually control, which is planting a crop, growing the best crop we can grow, manage our costs and manage our mental health.”

At a farm near Fillmore, southeast of Regina, producer Chris Procyk says history is repeating itself.

鈥淲e are unfortunately once again caught in the middle of a trade dispute that we didn鈥檛 cause or we didn鈥檛 create, and we鈥檙e left paying the bill,鈥� says Procyk, vice-president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan.聽

He also says there would be greater problems if the U.S. imposes levies on agricultural goods. Canadian crops and potash go south and farm machinery comes up north.

Procyk says the federal government should provide financial aid or other supports to farmers who have been affected by the trade war.聽

鈥淭here鈥檚 not really a place to pivot,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he whole farm is under a trade dispute, and we don鈥檛 have control of how these things play out.鈥�

Farms have faced headwinds from China before.

In 2019, Beijing blocked Canadian canola imports from two companies, citing contamination issues, though the move was believed to be in response to Canada detaining Meng Wanzhou, a Chinese business executive. Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were also detained in China days after Wanzhou’s arrest.

Wanzhou and the two Canadians were released to their countries in 2021. China lifted its ban on canola the next year, but it’s estimated the Canadian economy lost about $2 billion as a result of the dispute.聽

鈥淔arms can withstand some short-term pain,” Rigetti says. “If it goes on longer, it calls things into question.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2025.