CP Rail Workers Vote to Strike Starting March 16 Threatening Fertilizer Market

Nearly 97 percent of 3,000 Canadian Pacific Railway (CP Rail) workers voted to strike beginning March 16 if an acceptable agreement is not reached, according to CO Teamsters.

Approximately 10-15 percent of CP business is fertilizer, and if a contraction occurs, it would create huge issues for agricultural giants such as Nutrien, who has spoken out against the strike saying that such a move would seriously impact its ability to move potash, nitrogen, and crop inputs to its retail locations across Canada in preparation for spring planting.

Nutrien has requested the Canadian government step in, reminding the government that a loss of inputs early in the season will result in lower yields at harvest, and that global food supply chains are already under pressure.

Fallout from Hurricane Ida, stressed supply chains from COVID-19, and now the war between Russia and Ukraine (Russia produces 13 percent of the world’s fertilizer) are all at play, and adding a rail strike that would cripple movement across Canada would inflict a heavy toll on North American agricultural production.

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