Saskatchewan agriculture minister talks trade, tariffs

Glacier FarmMedia—Daryl Harrison found much to enjoy at Ag in Motion 2025.

“Being a cow producer myself, I like the livestock handling showcase there, that was great,” he said. “All the exhibitors are bringing their best to town.”

Follow all of our Ag in Motion coverage at the Western Producer.

Harrison was appointed to his role as Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture in November 2024. Since then, national issues like tariffs from the U.S. and China as well as more local challenges like wildfire and droughts have loomed over agriculture in the province. He spoke with Glacier FarmMedia about issues facing Saskatchewan agriculture Wednesday afternoon, July 16.

Trade top-of-mind

Harrison said the trade issues have been top-of-mind.

“Our canola growers, China’s the first thing they think about when it comes to tariffs,” he said, adding the duties on Canadian canola oil and meal were a result of the federal government’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

“We need our federal government to engage, and they have finally reached out to China,” he said. “They also need to realize they have to be able to work with China and negotiate those tariffs away, because ideally we want to trade around the world with fair trade and tariff-free”

Though most of the response to recent tariffs has been at the federal level, Harrison said Saskatchewan is still active in its provincial trade mission.

“We have nine trade offices around the world, and they’re fully, fully engaged in the areas they serve … They’re able to tell our story better than anybody else can on Saskatchewan’s behalf.”

He said it will be important for Saskatchewan to reach out to new international trading partners.

“We currently trade ag commodities from Saskatchewan in 137 different countries, and we’re always looking to grow that,” he said, “but also mindful that our big markets, the U.S., China and India … are important as well.”

“You can’t just replace markets like that overnight, but you’ve always gotta keep reaching out to those countries that are, you know, maybe small players now, but there’s potential to grow markets, and that’s what our trade offices do.”

Ag in Motion venue for forming relationships

He said Ag in Motion can be a venue for forming those relationships, as the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) has a chance to bring international partners into the field and see how the commodities they buy are produced.

As international trading relationships strain, federal and provincial governments have also looked to options of lifting barriers to interprovincial trade.

“You wouldn’t think that interprovincial trade should be that that much of an issue,” he said. “But, you know, it seems to, and we have to get that resolved.”

Harrison said Saskatchewan’s experience with interprovincial trade could set the tone for the rest of the country. He pointed to the New West Partnership Trade Agreement, signed in 2010 to create a barrier-free interprovincial market for Canada’s Western provinces.

“We’ve already had had that agreement in place, Manitoba came in later. So, I think it’s a good opportunity for the rest of the country to get on board and come into a similar agreement with Saskatchewan.”

The federal budget is another potential concern for Canadian agriculture, with the federal government recently moving for a 7.5 per cent cut to the federal budget in 2026-27, with more to come in the following years.

Harrison said he hopes agriculture funding will be spared the axe come budget time.

“I hope they take into consideration the fact that the spending increases have only gone up in certain areas and they can’t expect across-the-board cuts equally in ag areas,” he said. “It has to be proportional to what it’s gone up.”

Drought and fire

Aside from tariffs and trade barriers, widespread droughts and forest fires have been major threats to agriculture in the province this summer.

“There’s dry areas of the province right now. I don’t think there’s an area of the province that wouldn’t accept rain,” Harrison said.

In addition to his role as Agriculture Minister, Harrison also handles the file of Minister Responsible for the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA). Recently, the WSA announced $45 million toward water management structures in the province.

Water is critical urban and rural communities, influencing agriculture, industry and recreation, “but that’s the case for anywhere in the world,” he said. “Water is just critical, and the Water Security Agency does a great job in managing that file.”

When asked what aspects of the Saskatchewan farming community he would like to see recognized elsewhere in Canada, Harrison pointed to the sustainability of the province’s grain farmers. He also encouraged farmers outside Saskatchewan to attend Ag in Motion in the future.

“I would say, come,” he said. “It’s got the field trials. It’s got the plots. It’s got the equipment manufacturers. You can engage with producers right here from the local area, but you can engage with producers from several provinces in Canada and several U.S. states. It’s a one-stop-shop.”