We did this to ourselves

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   By Cow Man (Murray Harris, Guest Blogger)

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Ever been in a barn with a steel roof when it rains? Better yet, when it hails? There is nothing more reassuring than hearing the ping of heavy rain drops, or hail glancing off of a steel roof while you are sheltered inside.

So how sheltered are Canadians from traditional foods shortages. “47” gloats that “the US doesn’t need anything that Canada has”. Could be. What Canada has to offer is a
convenience for the US. Cheap electricity, abundant potash, heavy oil at a 20% discount, aluminum, and seven NHL cities paying hockey players in US dollars.

If instead “47” claimed that the “US feeds Canada”, the veracity of the statement would be sound.

What really matters to Canadians, as we eat regularly, is food. How much do Canadians rely on food grown or processed in the US? Why are agricultural commodities grown in Canada shipped to the US for processing and then sold back at high margins? Why is food so much more expensive in Canada than the US, other than the value of our flaccid Canadian dollar?

For example, Canada exported $934 Million in wheat to US and imported back $ 2.59 Billion
in baked goods. (Here)

Canada also exported $3.7 billion in seafood, $3.4 billion in vegetables and $4.3 billion in meat to the US. How much of that is further processed and shipped back to Canada with margins added?

Canada’s exports to US 2025 (Here)

While there are frequent headlines about the impact of Dairy Supply Management on Canadian consumers, there is never a word about the 246,161 metric tonnes (MT) of US dairy products worth $1.31 Billion USD imported into Canada in 2025. These are bulk imports with little marketed at the retail level. (Here)

Over 22,000 MT of butter, and over 20,000 MT of cheese came into Canada from US in 2024.
That is over 1460 refrigerated tractor trailer loads of these dairy commodities. US is demanding more access to Canada’s retail dairy market, in this round of CUSMA. Canada imported $846.84 million in dairy, eggs and honey from USA in 2025. This was a 245% increase over 2015 dollar amounts. (Here). (Here)

The inability of Canada to feed itself is directly connected to NAFTA and CUSMA. Free trade moves processing to the lowest cost and most efficient jurisdiction. That is not Canada.

Even Ontario’s 8,000 acres of sugar beets grown in Kent, Essex and Lambton Counties are trucked to Croswell Michigan for processing. Then, the sugar can be sold back to Canadian consumers, with margins added, of course. (Here)

Canada cannot militarily defend itself, nor sustainably feed itself. Both of these facts have been finally acknowledged by our current Government. Along with the dramatic escalation of military spending, our Feds announced June 11th an initiative to build a domestic food system, to make Canadians’ food availability increasingly sustainable.

Canada’s National Food Security Strategy (NFSS) is a $3 billion initiative that PM Carney states “is a strategic necessity”. “A country’s sovereignty depends on a country’s ability to feed, to fuel and to defend itself.” (Here)

Since 1994 when NAFTA was signed, an unconscionable amount of Canada’s food growing and processing sectors have been lost to the US and Mexico. In the last 20 years Ontario lost major food processing facilities operated by Maple Leaf Foods, Nestle, Heinz, Kellogg, Kraft, Cangro, TruHarvest, Ryding and Hershey. It took our fifth Prime Minister since the NAFTA signing 1994, before a Canadian Government has realized our vulnerability. Our Canadian food processing sector has been hollowed out.

Even though Canada may have the storm protection of a steel barn roof, with our natural resources, and our exports of wheat, corn, canola, and other grains, we have left ourselves vulnerable by leaving the barn door open and letting our food processing sector stampede to our CUSMA partners to the south.

Life experiences dictate one’s perceptions of Government policies such as CUSMA. The barn doors are open and the herd is gone. We are subject to the whims of “47”. If the border closed for 72 hours would our stocks of fresh fruits and vegetables be gone?

Has the Gordie Howe Bridge opened yet?

About the Blogger: Murray Harris (who posts as Cow man) is a 40-year dairy farmer having developed his Burnview Holstein herd to one of Canada’s highest production herds. Community activist and Charter Member of Burlington’s Sustainable Development Committee, he has held positions on several Agricultural Committees and Conservation Halton. Married to his Trophy wife of 52 years, he’s a father of two, grandfather of three and continues to serve the community as a school bus driver.

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About the picture: “Hope you’re recovering well, Garth, from your vicious, unprovoked attack,” writes Heather. “After losing our dog many moons ago, we’re always on the lookout for some dog love. We found this cutie waiting for his/her owner to return from the mall. It was a cool, drizzly day, so there was no fear of overheating. You’re a national treasure, Garth. Please keep on dispensing your words of wisdom, laced with humour, for as long as you’re able.”

To be in touch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘garth@garth.ca’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2026/07/03/we-did-this-to-ourselves/