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Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba trade representative to U.S. ‘hit the ground running'
Indigenous, agriculture and labour leaders who have met Manitoba's new trade representative to the U.S. say they're optimistic Richard Madan is the right person for the job at a critical time. 'It's only his fourth day on the job, but he's a thoroughbred,' Renee Greyeyes, president and CEO of Indigenous Chamber of Commerce Manitoba, said Friday. 'The starter pistol sounded and he hit the ground running.' Greyeyes said she met Madan at two events after he arrived in Winnipeg on June 23 for a week of meetings with Manitoba business sector leaders. 'I think he's a good choice,' said Manitoba Métis Federation president David Chartrand, who recalled being interviewed by Madan in his former role as a Washington, D.C., bureau reporter. Chartrand said he was impressed by the provincial trade rep as Manitoba deals with tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Madan, an American-born, Alberta-raised dual citizen who covered politics in the U.S. capital for nearly a decade, shared his insight on the states that Manitoba trades with and how they're being hurt by tariffs, Chartrand added. 'For example, he said in a lot of the farming areas … there's an outcry right now and it's causing a lot of pressure on Trump,' and there's opportunity to forge alliances with those states that will benefit both sides. It is a stance Keystone Agricultural Producers president Jill Verwey agrees with. 'It is their legislators and state representatives that are carrying that strong message on how important the relationship with Manitoba and Canada is,' she said. Verwey and other commodity association representatives met with Madan on Wednesday at Manitoba Agriculture's Food Development Centre in Portage la Prairie. Verwey applauded Premier Wab Kinew for establishing a business and jobs council ahead of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade being renegotiated, leading a Manitoba mission to Washington in early 2024 and hiring Madan to his new role. 'He knows who to talk to … he knows what phone calls to make and has those relationships. I really did find that he was here to listen.'– Manitoba Pork general manager Cam Dahl She said Trump's tariff threats that change 'from hour to hour, day to day' emphasize how important it is for Manitoba to strengthen its trade ties with individual U.S. states. 'The greatest value is having that strong relationship and building on that,' said Verwey, who wants to see a co-ordinated, Prairies-wide approach to domestic and international trade for the agriculture sector. Manitoba Pork general manager Cam Dahl said Madan seemed knowledgeable about working with the states and the value of strengthening relationships. 'He knows who to talk to … he knows what phone calls to make and has those relationships,' said Dahl. 'I really did find that he was here to listen.' At the Manitoba legislature, Madan heard from labour leaders about the worries and concerns caused by tariff threats. 'Different unions talked about some layoffs that they're facing, the impact some of these things are having on workers and the uncertainty that they're causing our economy,' Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck said Friday. 'That's the story that needs to be told in Washington… that there's a trained, skilled workforce here that can partner and do things together.'– Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck 'We also talked about how proud we are to be Manitobans and that this is a great place to live and to work,' Rebeck said. 'That's the story that needs to be told in Washington — that there's a trained, skilled workforce here that can partner and do things together.' Meantime, Madan will need more than a week of hearing from Manitoba stakeholders to advocate on their behalf, said trade and supply chain expert Robert Parsons. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. 'My only concern is: does he get it about what is going on here?' said the Asper School of Business instructor and researcher with a PhD in engineering. Madan worked as a reporter in Winnipeg more than 20 years ago (2000-04). Before Madan's hiring was announced, Parsons had said he hoped Manitoba's trade representative to the U.S. would be someone from the province with extensive industry or trade experience. 'You have to really be in tune with what's going on here and, if there's a challenge, I think that's the one.' The provincial budget includes $800,000 for the Washington office, which includes funding for office space, salaries and administrative support. Carol SandersLegislature reporter Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol. Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
24-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba pork, canola producers hold steady amid heavy tariffs
A slab of back bacon from Natural Raised Pork comes with a waitlist. Ian Smith points to tariffs. Since the United States placed levies on imports from Canada, Manitobans have increasingly been calling Smith about his farm near Argyle, some 40 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. 'There's more people wanting to support local and I'm one of few people that do what I'm doing,' said Smith, 62. SUPPLIED Ian Smith at his Natural Raised Pork farm near Argyle He estimates 90 per cent of his pork products are bought by Manitoba households; the latter goes to a packing plant. Last year, it was a 50-50 split. Smith works alone, hustling to meet the four-to-six week waitlist that's accumulated. He keeps hundreds of feeder pigs and a couple dozen sows; it's a relatively small operation, he noted. 'If there's any mistakes to be made, there's only one person to blame and that's me,' he said with a laugh. Smith doesn't export to China — so he's shielded from that nation's levies still hanging over the Canadian industry. Elsewhere, hog operations exporting to the Asian country are swallowing 25 per cent tariffs to keep business steady. Manitoba Pork, the organization representing roughly 600 farms, anticipates seeing lower revenues this year. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada has forecast a 6.4 per cent drop in Manitoba's seeded areas of canola this year. Products using canola oil and canola meal are targets of a 100 per cent tariff, alongside peas. Last week marked three months of the Chinese tariffs. 'This needs to be the most important file for Canada's minister of agriculture,' Cam Dahl, general manager of Manitoba Pork, said of Chinese and American tariffs. 'It needs to be the top file for the government of Manitoba.' Dahl hasn't yet seen layoffs or slowed production. China enacted the levies in response to a 100 per cent surtax Canada placed on the Asian nation's electric vehicles last year, following the United States. Much of the goods shipped to China aren't wanted elsewhere. The country accepts offal, which includes organs like heart. Manitoba operators are largely covering 25 per cent tariffs to continue trade, Dahl said. Maple Leaf Foods and HyLife mass produce pork products in Manitoba. Neither company responded to questions by print deadline. In its first-quarter report, Maple Leaf highlighted increased year-over-year sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Tariffs could impact its positive 2025 outlook, it underscored. Manitoba exports between eight million and 8.5 million pigs annually. About $500 million worth of exports travel to China on average, Dahl said. It's the fifth-biggest export country for Manitoba pork, following Japan, the United States, South Korea and Mexico. 'We're an exporting-dependent industry in an export-dependent province,' Dahl said. From his viewpoint, Manitoba pork production levels have remained the same. Exports to China dipped nationally year-over-year in April, StatCan data show. A May report by Manitoba Agriculture suggests pork operators should seek alternative markets — like the Philippines, Vietnam and Mexico — for future exporting. StatCan projected canola would cover 3.1 million acres in Manitoba this year, a 6.4 per cent decline. Chuck Fossay seeded 1,100 acres near Starbuck, as in past years. The price of canola has rebounded since a drop earlier in 2025 amid tariff uncertainty. Buyers have recently been purchasing bushels for $16 — a 'good price,' Fossay said. 'We're seeing very strong demand,' he added, noting canola seeds are unaffected by the Chinese tariffs. The crop is covered under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade and isn't subject to U.S. tariffs. However, Canada lacks canola crushing capacity; the job is often outsourced to China and the U.S., noted Michael Mikulak, Food & Beverage Manitoba's executive director. 'There's concern about what that means to the cost and to the producers,' Mikulak said. 'Even small shifts in price can mean you're essentially running at a loss.' Affected manufacturers are largely in a 'wait-and-see' period, he added. Some canola farmers are feeling U.S. tariff impacts from increased farm machinery costs, said Fossay, who is a Manitoba Canola Growers director. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. (Canada and the U.S. have implemented import taxes on the other's steel and aluminum. On the U.S. side, the levy is 50 per cent; Canada's is 25 per cent.) 'We just continue to see higher prices on a lot of items,' Fossay said. 'It's really hard to know whether it's the marketplace that's causing that or if it's tariffs or a combination of both.' Meantime, Colin Hornby is watching for new agreements between Canada and its trade partners. 'We want Manitoba farmers to have the opportunity to sell their products into markets around the world,' said Hornby, general manager of the Keystone Agricultural Producers. 'We're strong believers in free and open and fair trade.' Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
