CPKC’s revenue entitlement was just over $1.06 billion. It surpassed that by about $2.66 million. The company will be required to pay excess, plus a five per cent penalty, to the Western Grains Research Foundation.

Canadian National Railway Company (CN) did not exceed its revenue cap of about $1.46 billion. It posted a grains revenue of a bit more than $1.45 billion.

Railways’ maximum grain revenue entitlements are set based on volume-related composite price indices, which are based on historical input costs like labour, fuel and material.

Grain movement spike

Western Canadian grain movement rose by 12.1 per cent over the 2024-2025 crop year compared to the previous crop year, the transport agency said. Railways moved a bit more than 49 million tonnes compared to 43.7 million tonnes in the previous crop year.

The federal agency attributed this to an increase in shipments for both railways.

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The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan had long advocated for the removal of the surcharges, saying they affected farm profitability.

Carbon surcharges were implemented to cover costs associated with emissions and fuel consumption.

Both Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City eliminated the surcharges as of April 1 in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick after the federal government ended consumer carbon pricing.

“This is massive for farmers,” said APAS president Bill Prybylski in a news release. “Axing the surcharges puts more cash where it belongs, in our pockets and back into our rural communities.”

APAS said since 2019, Saskatchewan farmers paid about $200 million in the fees. It estimated that the bill in 2025 would have been $80 million.

“We’ve fought tirelessly for relief and seeing it finally come to an end is incredibly rewarding,” Prybylski said.

The move comes at a time of incredible trade uncertainty.

A CN notice to producers said the Low Carbon Fuel Standard is still in place in British Columbia and “will remain unchanged per the tariffs issued effective April 1, 2025.”

APAS said it remains concerned about that and whether it will increase shipping costs to B.C. ports. The organization is also advocating for transparency of how the federal Output-Based Pricing System, or industrial levy, impacts farm input costs.

CN said it would follow legislation closely and re-adjust if necessary.

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Some 750 signals and communications workers at the railway had voted to strike as early as today if a deal was not reached.

No details of the agreement were released.

CN has been in talks with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) union since September.

In 2022, IBEW workers walked off the job for 17 days. The strike concluded when the union and CN agreed to take the dispute to binding arbitration. That strike did not directly affect rail traffic.

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“CN’s contingency plans are in place, operations will continue, and our dedicated teams are prepared to ensure the seamless continuity of service,” the railway said on its website.

CN has been in talks with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) union since September. According to the railway, the union, which represents 750 workers, rejected a recent offer and issued a strike notice. A work stoppage could begin just after midnight on January 28.

In 2022, IBEW workers walked off the job for 17 days. The strike concluded when the union and CN agreed to take the dispute to binding arbitration. That strike did not directly affect rail traffic.

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That’s as per the Canadian Transportation Agency’s (CTA) ruling, announced on Christmas Eve in a news release.

• CN’s grain revenue of $1,213,732,435 was $34,329,653 below its entitlement of $1,248,062,088.
• CPKC’s grain revenue of $871,716,922 was $1,824,083 above its entitlement of $869,892,839.

CPKC has 30 days to pay the excess revenue, plus a five per cent penalty of $91,204, to the Western Grains Research Foundation.

The CTA determines the two railways’ annual revenue entitlement as a form of economic regulation, the CTA said.

The total amount of Western Canadian grain moved in 2023-2024 was a bit more than 43.7 million tonnes. This was down 3.5 per cent from the previous crop year, which the CTA attributed to lower crop exports for the year.

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Unifor, which represents more than 3,000 members at the railroad’s Council 4000 and Local 100 committees, said the agreement includes improvements to wages and benefits as well as job protections for members working in CN terminals and headquarters across Canada.

The railroad earlier this month had reached a new tentative four-year collective agreement with the union. These new four-year agreements include three per cent wage increases annually, CN said in a statement.

“This agreement secures important gains that reflect the critical contributions of Unifor members to CN’s operations,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a statement.

“By working together with Unifor, we now have new agreements that strengthen our workforce and enhance our ability to serve customers reliably across North America,” said Tracy Robinson, CN’s president and chief executive officer in a statement today.

The ratification comes after Unifor members last month authorized a strike action if the parties failed to reach an agreement by Jan. 1.

The union had initiated negotiations with CN Rail in September, with bargaining priorities that included higher wages, addressing concerns about the pension plan and job security for its members.

— Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru. Additional reporting by Geralyn Wichers, Glacier FarmMedia.

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Employees represented by Unifor voted in late November to authorize a strike if a deal wasn’t reached by January 1. Workers called for improved compensation, job security and working conditions.

In a statement today, CN said it won’t release details of the agreement until the agreement is ratified. The current collective agreement expires on Dec. 31. The agreement affects some 3,300 employees, CN said.

“This agreement marks a significant step forward in securing improved conditions and protections for Unifor members at CN,” Unifor said in a statement to members.

Ratification votes will happen “in the coming weeks,” it added.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon praised the parties for reaching an agreement.

“Thank you to the parties for putting in the work to get a deal and to federal mediators for their support. Negotiated agreements are always the best way forward,” MacKinnon said in a post on X.

Earlier this year, CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City railways briefly ground to a halt after talks with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union broke down. The situation ended with the federal government mandating binding arbitration, which is scheduled to take place in 2025.

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The organization has been dealing with multiple workforce disputes over the past year, and another is impending.

November 25 CN clerks and mechanics approved a strike mandate. According to their union, Unifor, the two groups voted 97 and 96 per cent in favour of job action, respectively. They are calling for improved compensation, job security and working conditions.

This would affect around 2,500 workers.

At Canadian Western Agribition’s Grain Expo, Sandra Ellis, CN’s vice-president for bulk, spoke briefly about the vote for job action, saying CN is actively in negotiations.

“We continue to be at the table. Both parties have agreed that we’re going to negotiate, and we have dates booked, we’re at the table this week already,” Ellis said.

Despite the overwhelming majority of workers voting in favour of job action, Ellis said she is optimistic that they can come to an agreement.

“We are hopeful and are working on it together to come to an agreement,” she said.

This follows CN’s challenging contract talks and the labour stoppage with railroad workers earlier this year. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union contract expired at the end of 2023, which put them into negotiations. By the summer, negotiations and offers had been tabled and binding arbitration had been requested by CN. Before the workers could strike, CN locked out its employees for one day on Aug. 22. While Ellis says that was done to protect the economy, the company faced criticism for it at the time, with the union saying the lockout was antagonizing.

“What this meant was that we could shut down the railroad in a planned way, which put us in the best situation to start up as quickly and as efficiently as possible,” Ellis said at Grain Expo.

The situation ended with the federal government mandating binding arbitration, which is scheduled to take place in 2025.
Now, CN’s Unifor workers could strike by Jan. 1 if no agreement comes to fruition.

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Unifor, which represents more than 3,600 members at the railroad’s Council 4000 and Local 100 committees, said members voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of the strike action.

CN Rail did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Unifor, which represents CN Rail’s car technicians and heavy duty mechanics among other workers, said negotiations with the railroad will resume from Nov. 30 to Dec. 8 in Montreal.

The union had initiated negotiations with CN Rail in September, with bargaining priorities that included higher wages, addressing concerns about the pension plan and job security for its members.

— Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru

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The union said its bargaining priorities include an improvement in wages, addressing concerns about the pension plan and job security for its members.

Unifor, which represents CN Rail’s car technicians and heavy duty mechanics among other workers, said its current collective agreement with the rail operator is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2024.

CN Rail did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The rail company has already faced a threat of work stoppage this year, by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Union in August, until the Canadian government called for a binding arbitration to reach an agreement over a new contract.

Teamsters has filed court challenges against the rulings by the country’s industrial labor board that forced them back to work.

CN Rail lowered its profit forecast for 2024 earlier this month, citing the impact of labor stoppages and wildfires in Alberta.

—Reporting for Reuters by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru and Juby Babu in Mexico City.

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