1 week Ago By By Connor McDowell Local Journalism Initiative
Hours before sweeping new U.S. tariffs were unveiled Wednesday, Premier Wab Kinew visited the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon to pledge increased support for Manitoba’s agriculture sector.
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S. tariffs were unveiled Wednesday, Premier Wab Kinew visited the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon to pledge increased support for Manitoba’s agriculture sector. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Hours before sweeping new U.
S. tariffs were unveiled Wednesday, Premier Wab Kinew visited the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon to pledge increased support for Manitoba’s agriculture sector. Kinew announced the province will provide $10.
7 million in matching funds for the federal AgriStability program, which helps producers affected by large declines in income margins. The $10.7 million for the AgriStability program is in addition to $140.
8 million announced in the 2025 Manitoba budget for business risk management programs, including AgriInsurance, Wildlife Damage Compensation and AgriInvest. Kinew speaks with Maple Leaf Foods plant workers in the Brandon facility’s cafeteria on Wednesday afternoon. The budget earmarks $100 million for agriculture as part of a $500-million contingency fund to respond to the effect of tariffs and a prolonged trade war.
Kinew emphasized his visit was a response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s expected tariff announcement later in the afternoon.
“A lot of people have been feeling that the future has a lot of risk because of what Donald Trump has announced,” said Kinew in the cafeteria of the Maple Leaf plant. “We are here with a simple message: We, as your provincial government, are going to support your jobs and support our economy.” The AgriStability program pays farmers based on changes in the industry, such as the cost of inputs and prices farmers can sell their product at, the provincial government website says.
When these factors create steep impacts on the farmer, they can apply for support. “The bottom line is, we’re putting money out the door to keep people working,” said Kinew. “The business risk management programs are there to help cushion a negative impact that the ag producers feel .
.. These are ways that we can protect our economy — we can insulate against the shock of tariffs and give our economy time to adjust.
” The fund is a short-term protection for the ag industry, but if tariffs continue there will need to be other approaches. Kinew said buyers like Japan and South Korea are also an option for the short term, and if conflicts continue, Europe is a vision for the longer term. “Some of those Asian markets that we can access — they seem like the real opportunity in the immediate term,” he said.
“Japan is a huge market for Manitoba pork, and they view Manitoba pork as a premium product to the Japanese market. South Korea is much the same way.” Due to regulations, European countries are less accessible in the short term, he said.
Kinew said, however, that he still values the United States as a trading partner and puts an emphasis on repairing that trade relationship if possible. A good response to tariffs, he said, is a “counter punch” from Canada with tariffs in kind, as well as the government spending to support the economy in Manitoba and building relationships with other export markets. The 10.
7 million in new funding is on top of $140.8 million for business risk management programming and the $100 million the province set aside for the agriculture industry as part of the 2025 budget’s $500-million tariff response contingency. AgriStability is a business risk management program under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew pauses during an announcement of $10.7 million in added support for Manitoba producers at the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon on Wednesday afternoon. (Photos by Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun) Kinew also said his government and Keystone Agricultural Producers are working toward a number of shared goals to support Manitoba agriculture.
KAP general manager Colin Hornby welcomed the announcement. “We’re pleased to have the government’s commitment to working with us on advancing some of these issues,” he said. The association will meet with the province in the coming weeks to “iron out” what it’ll look like; whether it’ll be direct payments to farmers, for instance, Hornby said.
“So figuring that out, making sure that something is sort of nimble, responsive and can support producers as needed,” he said. The new funding follows up on a commitment the province had made to respond to the federal government’s decision to increase AgriStability payments, he said. “For those who are enrolled in the AgriStability program, it’ll provide them with a bit of extra support that’s going to be needed if they have to make claims to that program,” he said.
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