REGINA – The meeting of Prime Minister Mark Carney with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in South Korea came as welcome news to Saskatchewan political leaders on Friday.
At a media availability at the Legislature, Premier Scott Moe said he was able to connect with Prime Minister Carney’s office on the ground after Carney had met with Xi, and had spoken directly with Federal Parliamentary Secretary Kody Blois.
“I would just say, in eight years, that's the first opportunity that we've had for the Prime Minister of Canada to meet with the President of China, and that is a positive step forward,” Moe told reporters.
“And I think this meeting really does signal, and it is my hope, that we'll be able to deliver on, you know, resetting that relationship from a trade perspective, moving forward in a pragmatic fashion, and I'm confident that that is going to be the case from the information that I received in our phone call here this morning.”
Premier Moe said this meeting built on some of the previous engagement that occurred, pointing to the Saskatchewan delegation that went to China that also included Parliamentary Secretary Blois. Moe also pointed to the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership on the ground right now in China.
Moe adds that early next week there will be officials and representation from the Ministry of Trade and Export Development here in Saskatchewan, as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, to “further that engagement and further the opportunities that we have, specific to the China market, to advance that relationship and move towards a trading environment that not only opens up access for the products that we traditionally have traded with China, but even goes beyond that and expands on that trading relationship.”
Moe also confirmed to reporters that canola was talked about in the latest meetings with the Chinese President, and are “very much the focus, I think, of the conversation and how we're going to actually reset this relationship.”
When asked by reporters, Moe said he did not think it was realistic to get all the tariffs removed during this initial meeting in South Korea.
“It wouldn't be realistic to think that you have one meeting in eight years, and you resolve all the differences that have been communicated over that time. And so there is a broader relationship between the two. The fact that there is a plan to engage again at the Prime Minister's present level, positive. The fact that we have business delegations on the ground from Saskatchewan every week, that's positive. We have trade and export folks that are going to work alongside our international trade office in China next week, both from trade and export as well as agriculture, also positive.”
Moe also responded to word that there will be another meeting set up between Carney and Xi.
“Yeah, I saw that. There's an invitation for Prime Minister Carney to go to China. That's a positive outcome, I think, of this particular meeting, as well.”
As for that next meeting, Moe said what he wanted to see was “to have unfettered trade access, not only to China, but non-tariff access to the United States, India, as well as any other country around the world. It's how we create wealth in this province and how we create wealth in this nation. It's not always a straight line, as we see most recently with the last number of months of negotiation with our largest trade partner, the United States of America, but it's something that we need to remain committed to.”
Peas, federal budget also pressing issues
On the other pressing issue of latest 30 per cent duties from India on yellow peas, Moe said they have talked with the Indian High Commissioner to Canada, the Canadian High Commissioner that will be going to India, as well as their trade office.
“We've been engaging again on that broader opportunity that we have and the importance of not having the 30 per cent tariff on yellow peas, which they've instituted, at least on product that's coming from Canada. We are a reliable, sustainable, long-term trading partner and very much a part of the food security supply chain in India. We're going to be engaging again, if not today, early next week with Indian officials, and we'll see where that goes in the next few days.”
When asked about the impact all of this has had on the provincial economy, Moe said Canadians will see the impact “first and foremost next week with the federal budget.”
“I expect the deficit to be significant for more than one reason. There's been some significant deficit-fueled expenses or investments over the last number of years that you can't change in one year. Second to that, I would say that in the short term, the Canadian economy is really struggling in this uncertain time, whether it be the construction industry, the auto industry, manufacturing industry, or even the lack of access that we have on some of our export products to countries around the world. I would say you're going to see the Canadian economy really starting to sputter, and that's the indications that the Governor of Canada has given in his most recent comments as well.”
Moe adds he believed Saskatchewan, if “we're able to navigate some of these short- term challenges, is as resilient or more resilient than many other provincial economies across the nation.”
But it speaks to the “importance of continuing the effort in removing these tariff barriers,” he added.
Beck sends letter to Prime Minister Carney on the budget priorities
Later in the morning Opposition Leader Carla Beck stood alongside Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon and pledged to producers that the NDP “has your back” and would “everything in our power to ensure that these tariffs imposed by China and now by India are removed.”
Beck said that morning she had written a letter to Prime Minister Carney outlining the priorities for Saskatchewan that she hoped to see in the next budget.
Specifically, she said, “we'll be looking for investments that ensure the building of massive infrastructure projects from Canadian coast to coast. We want to ensure that they actually get built. We're also looking for a budget that outlines a roadmap for expanded trade markets helping families with the sky-high cost of living. A budget that does these things, that's focused on these priorities for Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan people could be a game-changer."
Beck also wanted to see investments in “those pipelines, those rail lines, those power lines to bolster capacity and to allow us to get our world-class products to market.”
“And I think we have to acknowledge the elephant in the room. That the (Donald) Trump and Chinese and now Indian tariffs, what they've had, the impact that they've had will continue to have on workers and producers and processors in this province. So we will also be looking for sector- specific supports in this budget to help workers that have been so impacted in areas like steel and lumber.”
Wotherspoon said they wanted to see in the federal budget a renewed focus and effort to secure new trade markets, such as opening up the United Kingdom and China for Saskatchewan and Canadian beef.
“This is such a critical moment for Saskatchewan," said Wotherspoon. "Producers have been hit so hard as those export markets have taken a beating. But there's a real moment here for the federal government to lean into all that we have to offer here in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan producers are incredibly hardworking, self-reliant and proud, but they need market access. And they've been paying a serious price for market access that's been lost.”
As for Prime Minister Carney’s meeting with the Chinese President, Beck reiterated that “we hope to see those EV tariffs removed. We hope to see the tariffs on canola, peas, pork removed.”
“I think it's up to, as I've said, leaders at all levels to take the meetings, to find those shared priorities, to drive what we can control, because those who are paying the price right now, those producers, those folks who are dealing with bills that they can't pay, they need that from their leaders right now. So absolutely, I think this was an important meeting. I hope to see some results from that meeting.”
