REGINA – Trade issues remain top of mind for Premier Scott Moe in his address to those attending this year's Food, Fuel and Fertilizer Global Summit in Regina.
Moe’s address to an audience full of leaders in the agriculture, mining and energy sectors included a focus on many of the initiatives of his government over the past few months, including the recent uranium deal with India. Moe also sat down for a fireside chat with Tim Gitzel, CEO of Cameco.
But with the Canada – USA – Mexico free trade agreement coming up for review, and with war in Iran impacting oil shipments and spiking prices, this year's Global Summit was again held under a backdrop of international turmoil — as was the case last year due to the instability created by President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Addressing those challenges was again a focus of Moe’s remarks in 2026.
“Whether it's tariff and trade-related challenges that we're seeing, whether it's geopolitical unrest, the Strait of Hormuz… there are challenges and uncertainty, and you only have to turn the news on each and every night to realize what the latest one is,” Moe told the audience.
He acknowledged things are “changing very, very quickly around the world, and that has an impact on a province and a nation that is very globally connected, for sure.”
But with all of that going on, Moe said “we need to turn our minds to protecting what it is we do, what it is we do in our industry, what it is we do in our communities, and protect everything that we have today, because we have a lot as a province of Saskatchewan.”
“We have some of the most vibrant and needed industries in the world. We provide some of the most crucial needs that the world is looking for. Second to that, we should not become so focused on only protecting what we have that we are missing the opportunities that are arising in this uncertain world, and there are many.”
Moe again pointed to the $62 billion of private investment in the province “in industries that are traditional industries: the mining, the oil and gas industry, the ag value-added industry."
"But we're also seeing investment into other spaces that will have benefits in the way of careers, investment and opportunity in our province as well as we move forward. With all of that going on, we need to ensure that we are doing our level best to keep the markets and the access to those markets open around the world.”
In speaking to reporters afterwards, Moe was asked about what the government would do in light of some of those challenges, including the spike in oil prices due to the disruptions in the Middle East.
When asked if Saskatchewan has considered pausing its gas tax, Moe has again not completely ruled out that possibility, saying to reporters “we have not made that decision as of yet.”
As for measures Saskatchewan is already doing on affordability, Moe acknowledged his government was taking a “little bit different approach” by focusing on more permanent and long term measures. But Moe did welcome the temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax by Prime Minister Mark Carney until Labour Day.
"We do welcome any affordability measures. In this case, being a temporary affordability measure.”
As for the future of CUSMA negotiations, Moe acknowledged to reporters that “it's going to be a difficult and challenging conversation.”
Moe called CUSMA a “beneficial agreement for not only Canadians, but for, you know, Americans as well. It certainly is when it comes to accessing tariff-free Saskatchewan potash fertilizer, tariff- free Saskatchewan uranium for clean nuclear power. The oil is the largest export that we have that heads to the United States. They add value to that in refineries in Iowa and Michigan and Wisconsin.”
Moe said the goal should be a “free and fair trade environment between our nations to ensure that we are competitive and secure as the continent of North America.
That should be our goal. And I hope we realize that sooner rather than later.”
When asked about Prime Minister Carney’s comments on the weekend about the relationship with the United States being a “weakness,” Moe had this to say:
“I wouldn't really categorize any trade relationship, in particular with our largest trading partner, a weakness. I would have to ask him what he's referring to.”
Moe did acknowledge concerns about becoming too reliant on trade with one country, but said that “trade relationships are not weaknesses. They are our strengths, and they are truly strengths.”
Of the USA, he said “this one is our largest, and it is going to, I would hope, be a priority. And I trust it will be a priority for the Prime Minister, Minister (Dominic) LeBlanc, the entirety of our federal government in the months ahead. And we're going to work as a provincial government, as a subnational government, you know, to support them in the discussions that are going to come. But they won't be easy. They'll be well publicized. And we need to, as Canadians, keep our eye on, you know, where we want to get to in the longer term with respect to this very, very important trade relationship.”
As for how he would characterize Canada's relationship with the U.S. right now, he called it “at a challenging time.”
“I won't try to interpret what message the Prime Minister was, you know, trying to convey, but what I did take from it was that this is going to be a challenging conversation this summer as we find our way through this review, and we should have, you know, not have blind expectations as to, you know, what the outcomes might be. The President and his administration have been very clear… they want a broad-based tariff across the board on goods, not just from Canada, but from other nations around the world, and they've applied that to other nations around the world, and that's what we're in for is, you know, that type of an environment and that type of an intent from our trading partner across the table. I don't think that's good for North American energy security. I don't think it's good for the long-term food and energy security of our nation, and ultimately our general security with, you know, our largest trading partner and traditionally our largest ally, but that's what we're in for. It's going to be a tough discussion.”
