It was announced on Monday afternoon that Premier Scott Moe will accompany Prime Minister Mark Carney for important meetings in China this week.

The two men have worked together over several months to convince China to lift crippling tariffs on Canadian canola seed, canola meal, canola oil and peas. Those tariffs were imposed as retaliation for Canadian tariffs on Chinese steel and electric vehicles that were announced in 2024 by then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Last fall, Premier Moe and Carney’s Parliamentary Secretary Kody Blois travelled to China to rekindle the frosty trade relationship between the two countries. Since then there was a side meeting between Carney and Chinese President Xi Xinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea at the end of October. Several federal cabinet ministers have went to China over the past few months as well.

“Canada and Saskatchewan need a strong relationship with China and these meetings support the process of recalibrating how we work together,” Moe said in a statement. “I am pleased to join Prime Minister Carney as we advance interests that are important to Canadians.”

Saskatchewan is Canada’s largest canola and pea producing province and the tariffs have impacted farmers through lower prices and reduced sales.  It’s unclear if Premier Moe’s inclusion on Carney’s state visit to China (the first by a Canadian Prime Minister since 2017) will lead to progress on eliminating those crippling tariffs. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Canada should not change its position on the Chinese EV tariffs.

The Canadian delegation will meet with senior business and political leaders, including Chinese President Xi.

(Above photo is a screenshot of meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe from news conference broadcast on CPAC on September 16, 2025)