Kelvin Heppner

Canada's first-ever "polygon" thunderstorm warning was issued by Environment Canada for an area west of Edmonton on Tuesday. Environment and Climate Change Canada is launching a long-awaited upgrade to its system for severe weather warnings this week, designed to deliver more localized alerts for convective weather. The primary change is the adoption of "polygons"—customized shapes...

Farm and agriculture organizations are offering a mix of optimism and conditional support following the federal government's unveiling of its new National Food Security Strategy last week. Announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald, the strategy promises substantial federal investments to increase grocery supply chain competition, domestic food processing capacity, and...

Not only is the Canadian government's new national food security strategy "the largest single investment" in the agriculture department's history, it should serve as a platform for driving much-needed changes around agriculture in the federal government, according to the federal agriculture minister. A day after standing alongside Prime Minister Carney at the Ontario Food Terminal...

The Canadian government is rolling out a suite of new programs, massive funding pools, and regulatory updates as part of its awaited national food security strategy announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday. The 27-page strategy explains how the government plans to increase the availability and reduce the price of domestically-grown food through four...

Total Canadian farm cash receipts breached the $100 billion mark for the first time in record history in 2025. However, surging expenses and soft crop markets kept a lid on overall profitability, as national realized net farm income was down slightly in 2025. According to data released by Statistics Canada on May 27, realized net...

The merger of Manitoba's two largest John Deere farm equipment dealers has been called off. Greenvalley Equipment (GVE) and Enns Brothers announced a plan to join forces in January, but GVE President Curwin Friesen says the arrangement has been cancelled, as the two companies encountered "considerable roadblocks and delays" by the federal Competition Bureau that...

The Court of King's Bench in Alberta has granted one of North America's largest private farming operations at least seven more weeks of creditor protection, as the large farm enterprise looks to restructure and generate cash to pay down debt while putting the 2026 crop in the ground. In virtual hearing on Friday, the same...

An almost-new canola and pea processing facility at Winnipeg, Man. that entered receivership shortly after construction is being converted into an artificial intelligence data centre. Bell Canada has confirmed it is renovating the former Merit Functional Foods facility to house what it calls a small data centre as part of the company's effort to "deliver...

The Carney government says it plans to update federal laws around food production and pest control products so that future decisions by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada take food affordability and availability into account. The Spring Economic Update from Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne on April 28 included an announcement that the government...

The grain handling business affiliated with Monette Farms will no longer be licensed by the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), as the large farming enterprise has entered creditor protection. The CGC issued a formal notice on April 23 to inform producers that Monette Seeds Ltd.'s primary elevator licence will not be renewed as of May 1,...