Opinion
This op-ed was submitted by Daryl Fransoo, Saskatchewan farmer and chair of the Wheat Growers Association.
Western Canadian farmers are the backbone of our nation’s agricultural economy, producing some of the highest-quality grain in the world. Yet our ability to get that grain to global markets is being choked by an outdated and overly bureaucratic system for approving and building port infrastructure. While countries like Peru demonstrate how quickly modern trade gateways can be brought online, Canada’s glacial pace risks leaving our farmers — and our economy — behind.
Consider the new Port of Chancay in Peru, a game-changer for South American trade with Asia. This state-of-the-art facility, a collaboration between China’s COSCO Shipping and Peru’s Volcan Compañía Minera, broke ground in 2018 and welcomed its first ships by late 2024—a mere six years from concept to operation. With a capacity to handle over one million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) annually, Chancay has slashed shipping times from Asia to Peru by nearly two weeks, opening new markets and boosting local economies. Peru’s leaders saw the value of efficient trade infrastructure and acted decisively, cutting through red tape to make it happen.
Now, contrast that with Canada. The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion at the Port of Vancouver took a staggering 18 years to secure federal approval. First proposed in 2007, it only received the green light in 2023, with construction still years away from completion. Even then, it came burdened with 370 legally binding environmental conditions—a high bar that, while well-intentioned, reflects a system paralyzed by bureaucracy.
For comparison, Peru built an entirely new port in a third of the time it took Canada just to approve an expansion of an existing one.
This matters deeply to Western Canadian farmers because the Port of Vancouver is our gateway to the world.
In 2024, the port moved a near-record 29 million metric tonnes of Canadian grain, including wheat, canola, and specialty crops like lentils. This isn’t just about numbers—it’s about livelihoods. Our farmers rely on this port to reach international buyers, from Japan to Algeria, who depend on Canada’s reliable, high-quality grain. Every delay in infrastructure development is a delay in getting our crops to market, threatening our competitiveness and the economic stability of rural communities across the Prairies.
The Port of Vancouver’s trade is forecast to grow by 3.5 per cent annually over the next few years, driven by demand for grain, potash, and coal. Yet, without quicker infrastructure upgrades, we risk bottlenecks that could strand our products on the Prairies while global buyers turn elsewhere.
The Centerm Expansion Project, completed in 2023, boosted container capacity at the terminal by 60%—proof that investment pays off. But such successes are too rare and too slow. Projects like Roberts Bank Terminal 2 shouldn’t take decades; they should take years, as Peru has shown.
So why does it take so long in Canada?
The answer lies in a tangled web of overlapping regulations, endless consultations, and a risk-averse approval process that prioritizes caution over progress. Environmental assessments, while crucial, often stretch into multi-year sagas, compounded by layers of federal, provincial, and municipal oversight.
Meanwhile, competitors like Peru streamline their processes, balancing environmental concerns with economic urgency. Canada’s farmers aren’t asking for a free pass—we support sustainable development—but we need a system that works at the speed of modern trade, not the pace of the last century.
For Canadian farmers, efficient ports mean more than just moving grain—they mean staying competitive in a world where speed and reliability win markets. Our government must take a hard look at other examples around the world and commit to slashing the timelines for port approvals and construction. Streamline environmental reviews, coordinate regulatory bodies, and prioritize projects that unlock export potential. The Wheat Growers Association stands ready to work with policymakers to make this a reality.
Cutting red tape and bureaucracy isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a necessity for our export capacity.
Our farmers feed the world, but they can’t do it alone. It’s time to clear the path to market, cut the bureaucracy, and build the infrastructure we need—before the world passes us by.
