By incentivizing seafood farmers instead of sidelining them, Canada could unlock its vast aquaculture potential, reduce U.S. dependency, and tap into new global markets.
Commentary
By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews
True political leadership shines in the ability to transform obstacles into opportunities.
The looming threat of sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports by U.S. President Trump provides Canada with just such a moment – a chance to turn immediate adversity into a bold, long-term strategic advantage.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford underscored this potential, saying: “This is an opportunity for Canadians to stand up and be proud. Even when it comes down to going into your local retailer, look at the back of the label – if it doesn’t say ‘Made in Canada,’ pick the can beside it that does.”
“I hope for British Columbians at home, when you’re at the grocery store and you have a chance to buy a product, right now you’re looking carefully at the labels to support Canadian jobs and to support Canada at this critical time,” echoed B.C. Premier David Eby.
Given the imminent threats from our largest trading partner, these calls must be expanded into a broader national ethos: to grow, mine, farm, fish, innovate, manufacture, produce, and build Canadian.
This strategy will strengthen Canada’s economic independence, support Canadian farmers, workers, and businesses, and help shield the nation from trade aggressors like Trump.
However, for this to succeed, our politicians must first stop pandering to the naysayers who insist it can’t be done and instead champion the voices of those who say it can, and are already making it happen.
Against this backdrop, the Canadian seafood sector, in particular aquaculture, provides a perfect platform to turn Trump’s threats into an opportunity.

According to government data, Canada’s fish and seafood exports totaled $7.6 billion in 2023, with most of it, about $5 billion worth, going to the United States. Salmon, both farmed and wild, represented a large chunk of the exports, along with lobster and crab. At the same time, the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) reported that farm-raised salmon production in Canada fell from a peak of 148,000 metric tonnes in 2016 to 90,000 metric tonnes in 2023.
This dramatic decline stems from political decisions prioritising votes over science, with the Liberal government caving to anti-fish farming activist groups, several of which receive U.S. funding to undermine Canadian jobs.
Hardest hit is British Columbia, where the Liberal government, bowing to activist pressures, has shut down approximately 40% of salmon farms in the province. Before these closures, the salmon farming sector was the largest agri-food export in B.C., employing around 6,500 people and contributing approximately $2 billion to the provincial economy.
The Justin Trudeau Liberals have also spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to justify the closures, despite their own globally renowned fisheries scientists stating that marine salmon farms in B.C. pose less than minimal risk to wild stocks.
The Federal government is now advancing a reckless Transition Plan that will unleash widespread economic devastation in B.C., leaving taxpayers on the hook for an estimated $9 billion in compensation to existing salmon farmers, suppliers, and First Nations.
The result of this politically motivated decision has Canada struggling to defend its position as the fourth-largest salmon producer in the world, behind Norway, Chile, and Scotland, with Australia and the Faroe Islands rising in the rankings.
This is despite Canada having the world’s longest coastline and far more bio-physical potential than these other nations to lead the world in sustainable seafood farming. Canada is now farming less than 1 percent of the viable area along its coastlines.
If Canada were to incentivise the nation’s seafood farmers instead of sidelining them for votes, the country’s staggering untapped potential in aquaculture could easily be harnessed to reduce our export dependency on the U.S. and open new markets in Asia, the Middle East, and the European Union.
Given that farm-raised salmon is the most popular seafood choice of Canadians, we could also address the nation’s food affordability crisis by providing millions of affordable, protein-rich meals. On the import front, Canada has now increased shipments of farmed salmon from countries like Chile and Norway, resulting in higher carbon emissions and increased prices for Canadian consumers.
The B.C. Salmon Farmers Association and their First Nation partners have provided a blueprint to the federal government to boost the aquaculture sector, which will also help rebuff Trump’s tariff threats.
This plan would see B.C.’s salmon farmers generate $2.5 billion in output, $930 million in GDP, and 9,000 jobs paying $560 million in wages by 2030, with $4.2 billion in output by 2040, all while protecting wild salmon stocks using innovative technologies and practices.
It would also achieve the same goals as the activist-induced proposed ban on ocean fish farming but without devastating impacts on the sector, First Nations’ rights, and on coastal communities.
The challenges Canada faces today, from hostile trade policies to shortsighted political decisions, demand more than just reactionary calls to “Buy Canadian.”
They require a unified national strategy rooted in sustainability, innovation, resilience, and pride.
Canada’s aquaculture industry, particularly B.C.’s salmon farming sector, provides an ideal starting point to achieve this vision – one that will feed the world while securing prosperity at home.
(Main image shows U.S. President Donald Trump)
Aquaculture worker with a farmed salmon in British Columbia – image courtesy of Cermaq.