If you rely on canola seed sourced from the U.S., you might be paying more this year—and not because of the seed itself.
On March 4, 2025, the Canadian government slapped a 25% tariff on a range of U.S. imports in response to American trade measures. Buried in that list? A key input for Western Canadian growers: low-erucic acid rape seed—better known as canola seed.
The move may have been aimed at Washington, but it’s producers who could feel the pinch.
“It’s a painful irony,” says Lauren Comin, policy director at Seeds Canada. “We’re a global leader in canola, but we don’t produce all our hybrid seed here. About 25% comes from the U.S., where the growing conditions help meet very specific production needs.”
Because of the biology of hybrid canola and the need for isolation from other fields, some seed production is strategically located south of the border. That seed gets shipped back into Canada and planted by growers like you. Now, it’s potentially subject to steep new costs.
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