Canada’s Department of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard has a new minister.
Joanne Thompson, the minister of parliament for St. John’s East in Newfoundland and Labrador, was selected for the position as part of the transition from former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to recently-elected Prime Minister Mark Carney. Trudeau announced his plans to resign in January, and since then Canada’s Liberal Party chose Carney to head up the government.
Thompson replaces Diane Lebouthillier, who replaced Joyce Murray as fisheries minister in July 2023.
Lebouthillier inherited a range of controversies when she took the position, including the push by the DFO to create a “net-pen transition plan” for salmon aquaculture in British Columbia, Canada. First announced under then-Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan via a plan to close all salmon farming in B.C.’s Discovery Islands in December 2020, the plan has been overseen by three separate fisheries ministers before Thompson – making her the fourth minister handling the aquaculture transition.
As the DFO gets new leadership, the BC Salmon Farmers Association has called for a unified approach to food security and economic recovery amid the threat of tariffs from the U.S. and China.
BC Salmon Farmers Association Executive Director Brian Kingzett said the province has an opportunity to increase food resiliency by reversing the plan to halt salmon farming.
“Science continues to tell us that farm-raised salmon and wild salmon can co-exist, and as BC seafood producers, we are ready to work alongside all levels of government to build a responsible future for the sector,” Kingzett said. “With the return to stable, science-based policies, BC salmon farmers can help secure BC’s food production and drive economic growth while protecting wild salmon.”
Whether Thompson will have time to set any firm policy will depend largely on the results of a snap election. The Associated Press reports Carney plans to call a snap election on 23 March, with a date set for 28 April.
