The past year saw ups and downs for the province’s agriculture sector, from a dwindling beef herd to narrowly avoiding the worst impacts of drought, to concerns sparked by incoming U.S. president Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
In December, CBC News spoke with Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson about how some of these issues played out, and what his office is focused on for the future.
Here is some of that conversation, edited for length and clarity.
CBC: Economists say it’s still too early to predict how exactly Trump’s proposed tariffs will impact Alberta but note they will change American buyers’ behaviour and likely touch all levels of the Alberta agriculture sector. What is Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation’s plan for dealing with that fallout?
RJ Sigurdson: Well first and foremost, I think it’s been pretty clear the position of president-elect Trump and vice-president-elect JD Vance, their concern is border security. That’s why I’ve called on the federal government to come to the table and work with what will be the new administration in the U.S. to address these issues so that we don’t end up with retaliatory tariffs on agriculture or oil and gas, knowing how it will affect our economy.… But I’ve been pretty clear in stating, too, as well, president-elect Trump ran on a platform of affordability in the last election. We know that tariffs on agricultural products here in Canada will affect affordability in the U.S. So we continue to work on a strategy as proactive as possible to have conversations.
Developing new relationships with overseas international trading partners, is that a focus for you right now?
RS: It is. We understand that being too heavily dependent on one country as your major export [market] can be problematic when you come into times like this when tariffs do pop up. Alberta’s farmers and ranchers produce the highest quality products in the world and they’re highly sought after. And that’s why we’ve started over in Asia to be able to have conversations on how we can continue to diversify our export markets. And more recently, I was down in Mexico to have the same conversations as well. [We’ve] met with the Port of Vancouver and are looking at how we continue to work with them hand in hand to increase how much we can export. So my focus as minister of agriculture is looking at every opportunity that we can to be able to continue to diversify and strengthen shipping routes to give more options to our farmers and ranchers on where they sell their commodities.
How does that stack up to working on new partnerships for increased inter-provincial trade, is that also a focus for you?
RS: Absolutely. [We] understand that at times it can be easier to ship to the U.S. than it can be [to go] across Canada. And that’s why we engaged in the Lloydminster pilot, which has been a very successful pilot. We’re working with the federal government and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to look at opportunities to be able to expand pilots like that one. And also working with our trading partners east and west to look at every opportunity that we can to be able to improve the ability to be able to ship processed goods across this country, which in my personal belief is a benefit to Canadians because it will aid with food affordability.
When you talk about developing new trading partners, what kind of timeline do you kind of attach to that in terms of getting those new channels up and running?
RS: We understand that there is a longer play with some of these moves, [especially] when it comes to major investments in rail … but we have to put a plan in place, understanding that’s going to be a key to the growth of agriculture. I’ve said it many times at a podium, conservative estimates for the global demand for food by mid-century [predict] between 45 to 60 per cent increase. The globe is going to be looking to Canada as one of only five countries that are net exporters to be able to satisfy that demand.
Do you think that the tariffs could kind of permanently change Alberta’s trading partner landscape in the long term?
RS: Absolutely. I mean any time there’s changes within free trade agreements or trade agreements with close trading partners, it is going to affect the overall strategy.
On to the issue of water. Most parts of the province were able to avoid the worst of this year’s drought because of rains in May. What was the province’s plan if that moisture wouldn’t have materialized?
RS: Considering the drought years that we’ve seen, the conversation about water and the future for Alberta is a conversation that we continue to actively have within our government. When it comes to our mitigation strategy, of course, I don’t control the rain. I mean, that is somebody well above my pay grade. And when it comes down to it, the best thing we can do as a government is to ensure that our business risk management programs are well funded, that they’re timely, and that they respond to the needs of farmers when they see a loss of production or damage from hail.
When it comes to water, we have to make sure that we continue to put it as a critical infrastructure piece on the table for every budget for the future. That’s why in my budget I’ve allocated $5 million for feasibility studies for additional water storage sites, and increased [funding] to the irrigation rehabilitation program. And also Minister Nate Horner, my predecessor, announced $933 million for the irrigation modernization program. And we’re seeing the fruit of that labour right now.
There are plans to expand some irrigation districts, but in recent years, these districts have also been asked to cut their allocations. Can you explain where that extra water is coming from?
RS: Well, the irrigation modernization, when you look at the work that’s already been done changing open canals to pipe systems, it decreases the amount of water lost. That’s allowed [irrigation districts] to do more within their current allocations. So this is all an efficiency move. Our provincial approach, of course, is going to be working with [the districts] on the larger piece, the reservoir storage, the new possibilities within Ardley, the new possibilities within Eyremore.
There’s a hundred different small opportunities across the province going on right now, looking at every available opportunity that we have to be able to store more water. Alberta is in a great position. We sit at the foot of the headwaters and we have the ability to sit down and work and build a strategy to be able to store more water, build more dams and provide that stability for the future. Some of these are going to be longer plays for us, some could take seven to 14 years [to complete] but [we’ve] committed the money to be able to get these projects moving forward.
Our province is growing in population, requiring more water for cities and towns. Do you see that being a point of tension with the agriculture industry going forward?
RS: It’s a point of tension. That’s why we have to make sure that we are putting these larger projects on the table and advancing them and that we do everything possible to get them built quickly.
