Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa/Montreal | Reuters — With his political future at stake, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will mount a charm offensive to placate dairy farmers who say he sold them out in order to win approval of a continental trade deal. Compounding Trudeau’s challenges in the influential province of Quebec, where many dairy farmers are based, […] Read more
Trudeau takes Quebec dairy gamble to preserve big trade deal
Tariff relief for Canada’s farmers at issue in Quebec election
Reading Time: 2 minutes Montreal |Reuters – Quebec farmers want further relief from a global tariff dispute ahead of Oct. 1 elections in the mostly French-speaking Canadian province, which has seen a recent rise in nationalist sentiment. Quebec’s ruling Liberals, centrists but separate from the federal Liberal party, launched their campaign on Thursday. They trail in polls behind the center-right Coalition Avenir Quebec […] Read more
Quebec offers aid to lessen brunt of U.S. tariffs
Reading Time: < 1 minute Montreal | Reuters — The Quebec government on Wednesday said it would spend $863 million over five years to mitigate the impact of U.S. tariffs on companies and the province’s agriculture sector. The plan would provide direct financial aid to some companies affected by the tariffs and would support investments to improve productivity, worker training […] Read more
Michelin to buy ag track maker Camso
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Michelin Man is set to take on much more field work with a US$1.45 billion deal for Quebec off-the-road track and tire manufacturer Camso. The deal, pending regulatory approval, calls for France’s Michelin to combine its off-the-road (OTR) business with Camso in a new division. “By joining forces with Camso, Michelin will create the […] Read more
Babybel cheesemakers to set up Quebec plant
Reading Time: 2 minutes The makers of those little individual cheese snacks in the red wax shells plan to start producing them at their own new Canadian plant starting in early 2020. France’s Bel Group, whose brands in Canada include The Laughing Cow, Boursin and the aforementioned Mini Babybel, announced Thursday it will put up $87 million to build […] Read more
Canada’s dairy farmers cling to protections as Trump demands concessions
Reading Time: 3 minutes Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — Canadian dairy farmers want trade negotiators to keep their hands off the protected sector in increasingly contentious talks with the United States, however loudly U.S. President Donald Trump demands greater access, an executive with Canada’s biggest dairy lobby group said Monday. The sector, worth $21 billion in farm and processed dairy […] Read more
Quebec ag minister won’t run again
Reading Time: < 1 minute With just under four months before the province’s next election, Quebec’s current minister of agriculture, food and fisheries won’t be in the running. Laurent Lessard ended weeks of speculation Friday when he announced he won’t seek a sixth term as the MNA for Lotbiniere-Frontenac. In a statement on Facebook, Lessard, 55, thanked his constituents for […] Read more
With maple syrup tariff, Canada-U.S. trade dispute spills beyond metals
Reading Time: 2 minutes Toronto | Reuters — Canada’s retaliation against U.S. President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs includes proposed duties on U.S. maple syrup, a nod to a national symbol and a powerful industry in Quebec that could hurt producers in Maine. While small in dollar value, the tariff shows how Canada’s retaliation has turned a dispute […] Read more
Supreme Court finds for provinces in ‘Free the beer’ case
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s top court on Thursday ruled against a New Brunswick man who had argued he had the constitutional right to buy beer more cheaply in a neighbouring province, saying that the law does not impose absolute free trade across the country. Dubbed the “free the beer” case in Canadian media, it […] Read more
Quebec cattle producers join national body
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec’s cattle producer group is now the ninth provincial member cattle organization in the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. Les producteurs de bovins du Quebec (PBQ) announced its membership in the CCA during the provincial body’s annual meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Quebec City. “At a time when new frontiers are continually opening up and our buyers […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
