Calgary, AB — (July 29, 2022): On August 1, 2012, Western Canadian grain farmers will celebrate the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly on the sale of wheat and barley and the freedom to sell their own crops. After decades of lobbying, court battles and public debate, it became legal for all Canadian grain farmers to sell their wheat and barley directly to whoever they chose. The Western Canadian Wheat Growers consistently and with determination, led the charge for decades.
Bill C-18 received Royal Assent on December 15, 2011 and came into effect on August 1, 2012. Up until that point, farmers were put in jail for selling their wheat and barley to anyone other than the CWB.
“Ten years of marketing freedom is a milestone of a bygone era. It will be a story my kids might not believe!” said Alberta Director Stephen Vandervalk.
“In my office hangs the first durum contract signed on the open market. It represents so many years of hard-fought battles in the public eye and in political circles, by all of our Wheat Grower leadership. I will always be grateful for the successes of our volunteer, farmer-lead organization,” closed Saskatchewan Director Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel.
The full history of Marketing Freedom Day and the important role that the Western Canadian Wheat Growers had may be found in its 50th Anniversary book, “Warriors for Wheat, available here.