Farming, trade, energy and economic news that matters to Canada, in short plain reports.
Saturday, November 14
Official figures
The Canadian Grain Commission published preliminary 2026 quality results for canola on November 13. Across 961 samples from western Canada, oil content averaged 43.8% and protein 21.6%, all grades combined. Of those samples, 858 graded No. 1 Canada, 70 No. 2, 26 No. 3 and 7 Sample Canada. The commission said the grade counts may not match the real grade split for the crop year, and the samples are unlikely to include grain harvested in the past two weeks.
Official figures
The Canadian Grain Commission released preliminary 2026 lentil quality results on November 12, based on 121 green and 132 red samples from western Canada. Green lentils averaged 26.4% protein on a dry basis, up from 26.0% in 2025. Red lentils averaged 27.3%, compared with 26.9% a year earlier. The commission said the figures will be updated as more samples arrive, and that the grade counts may not show the true grade split for the crop year.
Official figures
Budget 2026 proposes to renew the Wine Sector Support Program at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, with $176.9 million spread across three years that begin in 2027-28, federal officials said on November 13. They said the program pays licensed wineries directly to cope with rising input costs and to keep buying grapes from Canadian growers. Officials said the new money follows $343 million already invested in the sector. The chair of a national wine industry group said the renewal gives the industry the confidence to invest.
Official figures
The Canadian Grain Commission said its preliminary pea quality report, with data to November 12, covers western Canadian samples, 189 of them yellow and 33 green. Of the yellow samples, 71 graded No. 1, 83 graded No. 2 and 35 graded No. 3. Yellow pea protein averaged 23.1% on a dry basis, compared with 22.4% for the 2025 crop, while green pea protein averaged 23.3%, compared with 23.4%. The commission said the figures will be updated as more samples arrive.
Official figures
Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin launched AVOID-Methane on November 13 at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye. The federal release said the program is meant to help Canadian companies sell methane-reduction technology and services in other countries, and that Canada will explore starting business matching in 2027. It also said methane emissions from the oil and gas sector were 44% below 2012 levels in 2024.
Official figures
The World Bank said in a November 12 blog post that its food price index slipped in October after a three-year high in September, though it was still 15% above a year earlier. The bank said it projects the index to rise 10% in 2026 and 7% in 2027. It said grain prices rose 9% in the third quarter and gave three causes: attacks on Black Sea ships and ports, dry weather in big grain-exporting countries, and the first effects of an El Niño it called very strong. The bank said world wheat output is projected to fall 2% in 2026-27.
Official figures
The Saskatchewan government said on November 13 that the province's manufacturing sales rose 8.8% in September from August, adjusted for seasons, the biggest monthly gain among provinces. It said sales reached $2.5 billion, which is 41.2% above September 2025 and the second-largest yearly gain among provinces. The province cited Statistics Canada reports. Trade and Export Development Minister Warren Kaeding said manufacturers make everyday products out of the province's resources.
Official figures
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in Manila on November 14 that Canada has concluded free trade negotiations with the Philippines and substantially concluded talks on a wider agreement with ASEAN, the prime minister's office said. Both sides are working toward signing the Philippines agreement in 2027. Two-way merchandise trade with the Philippines totalled $3.4 billion in 2025, up 7.4% from 2024, the office said. It said the agreement could give Canadian businesses better access to the Philippine market, with farm and forest goods singled out, and that Canada announced $26 million for projects that include climate-resilient agriculture and food security.
Official figures
Alberta's government said on November 13 that it is creating an Oil Sands Growth Program, and that new oil sands production would be eligible for the program's royalty rates for 10 years. It said approved projects would pay a low starting royalty rate for the first five years, then see it rise by one percentage point each year until it reaches a top rate in years nine and 10. The government said it is targeting a spring 2027 launch, with a review by Dec. 31, 2029. It also said its goal is to double oil production, which it estimated could bring about $205 billion in extra revenue by 2040.
Friday, November 13
Official figures
Parliamentary Secretary Yasir Naqvi highlighted a new federal-Ontario action plan in Sault Ste. Marie on November 13, Global Affairs Canada said. The department said Ottawa has given over $25 billion in help to workers and businesses hit by U.S. tariffs. Under the plan, federal greenhouse gas limits on new light-duty vehicles will be held at their 2026 level until the end of the 2029 model year. The governments will also set up a Joint Steel Action Fund and a Canada-Ontario Steel Task Force, and for critical minerals the plan includes road infrastructure, a joint permitting process and a working group for engagement with First Nations.
Official figures
China ranked as Canada's second-biggest trading partner among single countries in 2025, with $125.6 billion in two-way merchandise trade, Global Affairs Canada said on November 13. The same release announced that Foreign Minister Anita Anand will be abroad between November 14 and 19. In Shenzhen she is to join the prime minister at the APEC leaders' meeting and hold talks with officials and business representatives on investment and trade links under a new Strategic Partnership. Before that she stops in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for a Francophonie ministerial conference and summit.
Official figures
Eighteen businesses in the Calgary area received up to $1 million each, in payments that do not have to be repaid, the federal government said on November 13. Eleanor Olszewski, the minister responsible for PrairiesCan, made the announcement in Calgary, and the total was $17.6 million. Officials said the firms include businesses in agriculture, health sciences, construction and advanced manufacturing. The money comes from a $3.45 billion tariff-response program, which officials described as part of a $7.5 billion federal package for workers and businesses hit by U.S. tariffs.
Official figures
The federal government is putting $200 million into a liquefied natural gas export plant under construction at Squamish, British Columbia, Natural Resources Canada said on November 13. The plant was designed to produce 2.1 million tonnes a year, and the department said the money is meant to lift that to a target of 2.5 to 2.6 million tonnes. Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said Canada has the resources, Pacific access and workforce, and that investment is needed to turn them into jobs and energy security. The government said selling Canadian LNG to allies in Asia and elsewhere supports its aim of doubling trade with countries other than the United States.
Official figures
Wholesalers in Saskatchewan sold $4.2 billion of goods in September, up 9.8% from August, Statistics Canada said. The agency ranked that as the second-largest provincial increase, behind Ontario, and said sales grew in four of the seven wholesale subsectors in the province. For Canada as a whole, sales edged up 0.7% to $92.5 billion, while in volume terms they slipped 0.2%. The agency said all of these figures leave out petroleum products, oilseed and grain.
Official figures
Factory sales in Alberta climbed 7.2% in September to $11.4 billion, the province's best month on record, Statistics Canada said. Petroleum and coal products posted the biggest gain there, up 20.0%. Across the country, manufacturing sales were basically flat at $80.2 billion, with Quebec seeing the sharpest drop among six provinces that slipped. The agency said higher prices pushed national petroleum and coal product sales up 10.0% to $11.5 billion, and it pointed to the continuing Middle East conflict as a source of pressure on refined petroleum prices.
Official figures
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly petroleum report, covering the week ending November 6, that distillate inventories grew by 4.1 million barrels yet sat 8% under their five-year average. Commercial crude oil stocks, not counting the strategic reserve, rose 4.7 million barrels to 414.4 million barrels, about 4% below the five-year average. The agency said refineries ran at 95.2% of capacity, processing 17.0 million barrels a day.
Official figures
The Prime Minister's Office said Mark Carney met leaders from Greece, Cyprus, Ireland, France, Denmark, Latvia and Sweden on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Dublin on November 12. It said the European Union is Canada's second-largest trading partner for goods and services, with bilateral trade up 10% from 2024 to 2025, to approximately $178 billion. The office also said Canadian LNG supply agreements with European buyers total up to 8 million tonnes a year for 20 years from 2032, and are waiting on a final investment decision on one project.
Official figures
The International Energy Agency said in its oil market report, released November 13, that North Sea Dated crude had dropped by more than 30% from a high of $136 a barrel on October 8. It pointed to Gulf exports recovering as the reason the market eased. Diesel in Europe fell 11% over the same period, though the agency called tight diesel supply the biggest worry for the market and consumers. The agency said it expects Canada, the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Guyana together to add 1.6 mb/d of output this year.
Official figures
The Alberta government said on November 10 that two of its legislators, Angela Pitt and Glenn van Dijken, will attend National Conference of State Legislatures task force meetings in Sacramento, California, from November 12 to 15. Pitt will speak for Alberta on the energy panel. Van Dijken sits on the agriculture panel, where the province said he will discuss cross-border farm trade and food security. The province said agri-food exports to the United States were about C$8.6 billion in 2025, and that U.S. customers buy 50.8% of Alberta's agri-food exports.
Tuesday, November 10
Official figures
The Bank of Canada published its third-quarter Market Participants Survey on November 9. It said the answers came from about 25 financial market participants, questioned from September 23 to October 1, 2026. The median respondent expected the policy rate at 2.25% in October and 2.50% in December, then 2.75% in the fourth quarter of 2027. Of the 23 who answered the question on risks, 52.0% said they were skewed to a higher path and 0.0% said a lower path. The median expectation for total CPI inflation at the end of 2026 was 3.0%.
Official figures
The United States Energy Information Administration said on November 10, in its Short-Term Energy Outlook, that it expects Brent crude to stay near $100 per barrel for the rest of 2026. It said it now expects retail diesel to average $5.03 per gallon in 2027, which is 12.0% above its previous forecast of $4.49. The agency said crude prices rose in October as falling global stocks, tanker attacks in the Persian Gulf, tight shipping capacity and higher transport costs squeezed supply. For November through March, it said it expects Henry Hub natural gas to average $2.87 per million British thermal units.
Official figures
The Bank of Canada published its summary of deliberations on November 10 for the October 28 rate decision. Members of the Governing Council weighed holding the policy rate at 2.25% against raising it to 2.5%, and the Bank said they raised it to reduce the risk that high energy prices would turn into lasting, broad-based inflation. The summary said total CPI inflation had been around 3% since April and is projected to reach 3½% at the end of 2026. The Bank added that more increases could be needed, with decisions taken meeting by meeting.
Official figures
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its November 10 supply and demand report that it projects 2026/27 world wheat production at 827.51 million metric tons, up from 822.39 million in the October report. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it projects world ending stocks at 280.82 million, compared with 276.04 million a month earlier, and world exports at 208.66 million, compared with 208.97 million. For Canada, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it left its wheat production projection at 36.50 million metric tons and exports at 30.50 million, the same as in October.
Official figures
Statistics Canada said on November 10 that Canada's primary energy production reached 25 484 petajoules in 2025, up 3.3%. Energy use rose 2.3% to 8 577 petajoules, and the agency said use in agriculture grew 0.9%. It described 2025 as the first full year of the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, which it said facilitated crude oil exports to Asian markets. The agency tied higher residential and commercial use to a winter colder than the one before.
Official figures
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said on November 10 that Minister Heath MacDonald has finished his third mission to China. The department said talks in Beijing included finalizing a pet food arrangement, updated to allow ruminant ingredients as well as poultry, with market value potential of $530 million. MacDonald and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu also updated Canadian agriculture stakeholders on the two-year extension of market access for canola meal, peas, lobsters and crab, which Global Affairs Canada announced on November 4.
Official figures
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on November 10 that on-highway diesel averaged $6.127 per gallon on November 9, down $0.165 from the week before. The same table showed diesel $2.290 above its level a year earlier. Regular gasoline averaged $3.995 per gallon, down $0.158 on the week and up $0.939 from a year ago. The agency noted that the prices include all taxes.
Official figures
Statistics Canada said on November 10 that canola prices received by farmers in the western provinces dropped in September from August, with Manitoba down 6.6% and Saskatchewan down 6.1%. The agency said a larger supply from the new harvest pushed prices lower, while Prairie prices stayed above a year earlier on stronger biofuel demand. Wheat other than durum rose on the Prairies for a fourth month in a row, but more slowly, and the agency said a bigger domestic harvest and higher stocks may have held back the gains. Slaughter cattle prices fell from August in every province, with Quebec down 13.8% and Saskatchewan down 4.6%, the smallest drop.
Official figures
Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Canada is bringing back sanctions on 11 Iranian entities that it removed from its list in 2016. Global Affairs Canada said the group is linked to Iran's nuclear work, its ballistic missile program or the financing of its other activities. Anand made the announcement in Paris, where G7 foreign ministers were meeting. The department counted 25 rounds of Canadian sanctions on Iranian targets, covering 237 individuals and 276 entities in total.
Monday, November 9
Official figures
Canada will keep its broad relief from tariffs on certain U.S. goods in place for another year, to June 30, 2028, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced on November 9. The department said the relief will now reach non-steel items bought for mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction, and goods that public education bodies use. Relief will end for certain goods with domestic production: certain trailers on December 1, 2026, and certain aluminum wire, extrusions and paperboard products on February 1, 2027. The department listed agricultural production among the uses of non-steel goods that the relief covers.
Official figures
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu held the second Canada-China economic and financial strategic dialogue with China's Vice Premier He Lifeng in Vancouver on November 8 and 9. Officials said two finance ministries signed a memorandum of understanding, and Canada's financial regulator signed a cooperation agreement with its Chinese counterpart. The department said China bought $35.0 billion of Canadian goods in 2025, a rise of 16.8% from 2024, and sales are up 41% so far in 2026 against the same period in 2025. It said China ranks second among Canada's customers for seafood, agriculture and forest products, with sales of about $10.2 billion in 2025.
Official figures
Foreign Minister Anita Anand announced new Russia sanctions in Paris on November 9, on the sidelines of a G7 foreign ministers' meeting. Newly listed are 38 entities and 24 individuals, among them parts of Russia's defence industry linked to ballistic missile technology and cyber activity, plus financial backers such as crypto exchanges. The release said the measures aim to weaken Russian military capability and raise the economic cost of the war on Ukraine. It also said that since 2014 Canada has sanctioned over 700 vessels and more than 3,500 people and organizations.
Sunday, November 8
Official figures
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said its food price index averaged 133.9 points in October 2026, down 1.2 percent from September but 5.9 percent above a year earlier. The cereal index fell 4.5 percent to 116.8 points. The agency linked lower wheat prices to subdued international demand and a better production outlook, and lower maize prices to harvest pressure in the United States. The vegetable oil index edged up 0.3 percent to 199.2 points, and the agency said soybean oil reached its highest level since late 2022.
Official figures
The Saskatchewan government said in its crop report for October 20 to October 26 that 99% of the province's harvest was finished. Yields were mostly in line with 10-year averages, the report said. Provincial estimates included 51.9 bushels per acre for hard red spring wheat, 44.2 for durum and 38.3 for canola. The report said late-season rain and pests caused some downgrading, and it put durum at 25% in the top grade, 1 CW, against a 10-year average of 39%.
Reported
The federal budget, tabled on November 5, proposes wider rollover rules for family farms. A livestock producer group said that from Jan. 1, 2027, a farm could be passed on to nieces and nephews. The group also said businesses could write off the full cost of eligible investments made on or after September 15, 2026. A national farm group said it was pleased with the steps on farm transfers but that additional action will be needed on rising diesel costs.
Official figures
The Bank of Canada and the federal government said on November 5 that they have renewed the monetary policy framework for five years, from January 2027 to December 2031. In a joint statement, they kept the inflation target at 2%, the midpoint of a 1% to 3% control range. The Bank said it will keep using the framework's flexibility when shocks hit the economy, while keeping its focus on bringing inflation back to target over time.