Tariffs flying between major trading partners this year have been bad news for Canadian agriculture.
But the bigger threat might be the indirect hit — the uncertainty from shifting trade policies freezing billions in potential investment across the sector.
That was one message from this year’s Fields on Wheels Conference, hosted by the University of Manitoba and the Transport Institute on Oct. 8.
Both tariffs and protectionism are reshaping Canada’s agricultural landscape, particularly with the country’s two most critical export markets, the United States and China.
If historical patterns hold, current uncertainty levels could trigger a 25 per cent drop in business investment and push unemployment up one percentage point.
That's according to Trevor Tombe, an economics professor at the University of Calgary.
