Rustad’s ‘Stop Foreign Interference’ Call Resonates with B.C.’s Salmon Farming Sector

“We are calling for an end, banning money coming in from the United States to these environmental organizations whose sole target is to disrupt our economy and to stop our opportunity for job creation” – John Rustad B.C. Conservative Party Leader

By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews

John Rustad’s call for new legislation to ban British Columbia-based activists from accessing American funding for campaigns against local resource industries has struck a chord with the province’s salmon farming sector.

Characterizing these financial channels as “foreign interference” that is “wreaking havoc” on the economy and imperiling local jobs, the B.C. Conservative Party Leader said new legislation is needed to protect the province’s resource industries from undue external pressures, as U.S. tariff threats intensify.

“We are calling for an end, banning money coming in from the United States to these environmental organizations whose sole target is to disrupt our economy and to stop our opportunity for job creation and for creation of the prosperity and resources and revenues, of course, that government needs,” Rustad said.

Rustad’s call emerges alongside a newly released report from a prominent Canadian think tank, which states the federal government’s   plan to ban ocean-based salmon farming in B.C. was shaped by political manipulation from activist groups financed by American donors.

According to the report, these U.S. funds underpinned public demonstrations, social media blitzes, and high-powered lobbying that painted salmon farming as a widespread threat, despite scientific findings that have dismissed those claims.

Describing the situation as a textbook example of foreign-funded activists commandeering national policy, disregarding science, destabilizing the economy, and undercutting reconciliation efforts with First Nations reliant on salmon farming, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI) laid out its case in stark terms.

Authored by Ken Coates – Director of Indigenous Affairs at MLI – the report,  Swimming Against the Tide: The case for salmon fish farming in British Columbia, was produced by the Ottawa-based, independent, and non-partisan public policy think tank.

In its findings, the MLI points to groups such as Wild First, the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance, and Pacific Wild as beneficiaries of substantial foreign funding from U.S.-based environmental organizations and philanthropic foundations.

These resources, the report said, were strategically deployed to craft a misleading narrative, using skewed studies, media tactics, and targeted lobbying to amplify the perceived risks of salmon farming.

Activists flooded social media with sensationalized claims, pressured politicians with fear-based messaging, and selectively ignored scientific studies that contradicted their agenda.

Among their most significant triumphs was winning the support of key Liberal cabinet ministers – most notably Joyce Murray and Jonathan Wilkinson – both representing ridings in British Columbia.

The MLI report asserts that these activist groups secured direct access to the former fisheries ministers, presenting selective data and emotional appeals, while dismissing input from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS), independent researchers, and the salmon farming industry.

“Relatively minor changes in provincial and federal regulations could change this and ensure that British Columbians and Canadians know about the money behind NGOs, environmental groups, public affairs advertising, social media campaigns, and the like,” said Coates.

With American dollars which spurred local contributions, the anti-fish farming campaign has directly led to the Trudeau Liberals announcing a ban on ocean salmon farming in B.C., post 2029.

Ottawa is now advancing a Transition Plan for the sector, which carries a staggering $9 billion price tag for taxpayers, along with extensive economic, social, and environmental consequences.

Described as a ‘reckless’ move aimed at placating the activists, the plan threatens to wipe out B.C.’s top agri-food export, eliminate 4,560 jobs, and significantly impact more than 1,000 Indigenous workers who depend on the industry.

Beyond the widespread fallout across Canada, over 1,400 B.C. businesses within the industry’s supply chain stand to lose $437 million – forcing some to shut down entirely.

The flow of American dollars to groups whose ideological agenda is to kill B.C.’s salmon farming industry has also been well documented by Vivian Krause, an independent researcher.

Through some investigative reporting, she uncovered that from 2003 to 2013, over $250 million was donated to anti-fish farming campaigns primarily on the West Coast of North America.

This came from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Packard Foundation, and PEW, and went to various groups, including Sierra Club, David Suzuki Foundation, Living Oceans, Coast Center for Aquaculture Reform, Ecotrust Canada, and the Rainforest Conservation Foundation, Krause reported.

“For decades, Canada’s salmon farmers and other Canadian businesses have been directly affected by millions of foreign dollars that have influenced our country’s political landscape and weakened our economy,” said Ian Roberts, the former Communications Director at Mowi.

“Given the current political climate with our neighbours to the south, it is now urgent to stem the flow of untraceable and unaccountable funds that seeks to harm Canadians,” he said.

“Rustad’s demands for transparency – whether from industry, activist groups and government – is a good thing and should be supported.” added Roberts, who is now Communications Professional.

(Main file image shows John Rustad B.C. Conservative Party Leader)