With oil and fertilizer prices on the rise, Canadian farmers are bracing for much higher costs than expected this growing season.
As the war in Iran continues, The price of oil continues to riseapproaching $2 a liter in most of Canada – except for parts of BC where prices have surpassed it.
This fuel is usually used in agriculture machinery and, because of their rising cost, may be a factor in future food price increases.
“We expect the crop margins, the profitability of planting crops, this coming season to be small. Even a small increase in oil prices will be impactful and could be very significant,” explained Sebastian Pouliot, an economic consultant based in Quebec City.
“We’ll be filling up our fuel tanks in the next couple of days – that’s going to be an additional cost. We haven’t really sat down to figure out how much it’s going to be,” Charles Fossay, director of Keystone Agricultural Producers in Manitoba, told Global News.
Some farmers offset the costs by filling their on-farm fuel tanks early in the fight, Fossay said.
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He is not alone in having to manage unexpected costs. Farmers from coast to coast to coast said they feel the pressure to produce.
“It’s going to be very expensive this year to irrigate unless things change,” said Christian Michaud, a farmer in New Brunswick, discussing the issue of dry growing seasons in the Maritimes.
In addition to diesel, farmers are also facing challenges due to increasing fertilizer costs, but Pouliot said consumers shouldn’t expect food prices to rise just yet.
“It’s not going to happen immediately. Retail prices usually don’t change that quickly. Even if fuel prices go up, we won’t see it immediately in food — it could be weeks, months in some cases,” he explained.
Pouliot said he does not expect the cost of food to rise significantly if oil prices are restored at the end of the conflict and a deal is reached soon.
“You can only store so much (fuel) and you have to refill your tanks throughout the year. So you can save a little bit here, but if prices stay high, at the end of the day, you’re still paying a lot of money,” Fossay said.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
