Farmer groups are hoping the federal government will include new measures to help Canadian farmers in its upcoming budget, including relief on diesel prices, following a year when they’ve been hit hard by high input costs.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is scheduled to unveil Ottawa’s new budget on Thursday at a time when the country continues to face strong economic headwinds amidst its trade war with the United States.
This year has been a particularly difficult year for farmers, largely as a result of higher prices for critical farming products such as diesel and fertilizers, Keith Currie, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, said.
“The general input costs have really been quite stressful on farmers,” he said. “We don’t get to adjust our prices to reflect the increase in input costs, so our margins are getting squeezed tighter.”
Oil and diesel prices have significantly risen this year, particularly because of the U.S. war with Iran, which has impacted the flow of crude and other products through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international trade route through which a fifth of the world’s energy exports pass.
Higher oil prices have resulted in annual fuel expenses increasing to between $68,000 and $106,000 in 2026 for a 5,000-acre farm in Saskatchewan, not including the increase in trucking costs and rail freight, according to an estimate by Farm Credit Canada.
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