A humpback whale known as Starry Knight has returned to the Salish Sea (which encompasses the waterways into and around the Port of Vancouver) after not being sighted for more than 10 months, providing an encouraging outcome following two serious entanglement incidents in 2025.

The whale was observed near Gabriola Island (Southern Gulf Islands) on July 14 after surviving separate rescues from fishing gear last summer, including one incident involving more than 60 metres of line and another that aggravated existing injuries. Wildlife observers report that the whale appears to be in good condition despite the severity of the previous entanglements. The sighting underscores both the importance of the Salish Sea as critical feeding habitat for humpback whales and the ongoing need for efforts to reduce whale entanglements in fishing gear and other marine debris

Last fall, Canadian farmers harvested their largest crop of canola, ever. But strong domestic crushing demand and larger than expected exports have eaten through most of Canada’s canola inventories despite that record harvest.
The bulk of the canola was delivered to domestic crushing plants, as crush capacity on the Prairies continues to grow. Canola processing capacity is projected to reach 15 million tonnes this year. Grain market analysts say crushers are offering increasingly competitive prices to secure remaining supplies, indicating tight availability ahead of the new harvest.

Louis Dreyfus expanded its plant in Yorkton, doubling the site’s canola crushing capacity to more than two million tonnes annually. Not to be outdone, Richardson International also doubled the size of its Yorkton crush plant, raising its annual processing capacity to 2.5 million metric tonnes. Cargill are also getting in on the act after opening their new crush plant in Regina this past spring, which has a capacity of one million tonnes per year.

Canola exports were also strong this past crop year, with industry experts predicting exports in 2025-26 could wind up at nine million tonnes. The Canadian Grain Commission estimates sales at 8.73 million tonnes as of week 50 (July 12-19). That is well above the six million tonnes analysts were initially forecasting at the start of the year.

Canada’s two largest railways moved record grain volumes during the 2025-26 crop year, highlighting the critical role rail transportation plays in moving western Canadian agricultural exports to global markets. Canadian National Railway (CN) delivered more than 33.8 million tonnes of grain last year, surpassing its previous record of 31.2 million tonnes set in 2024-25, while Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) hauled 30.66 million tonnes of grain and grain products, an 11 per cent increase over the previous year and a new company record.

Looking ahead, both railways expect another big year for 2026-27, with CN indicating expected capacity to move up to 36.7 million tonnes and CPKC forecasting grain shipments of up to 34.5 million tonnes in 2026-27. In their recently released grain plans for the coming crop year, both CN and CPKC have outlined intended capacity and infrastructure investments to support continued strong movement of Canadian grain to domestic and international markets. Both railways are investing in locomotives, high-capacity hopper cars and network improvements to strengthen reliability and efficiency.

A recent report by Quorum Corporation, the federal government’s official monitor of Canada’s Prairie Grain Handling and Transportation System, has outlined how Canadian railways have adopted seasonal pricing for grain shipments, increasing freight rates by approximately 20 to 30 per cent during the fall harvest period before reducing rates later in the crop year. Per the report, both Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) are raising their rates, typically starting in the September-October period and the keeping them higher until January-February. Further, shipments to the West Coast are seeing an additional hike to the already increased rate.

For example, CN raised their freight rates by 25 per cent in September of 2024 compared to July of that year. Soon thereafter, they tacked on an 11 per cent increase in October for westbound grain, effectively raising CN’s single-car rate to the Port of Vancouver by about 36 per cent during the busy fall season. Similarly, CPKC freight rates for grain increased 31.4 percent from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31 of 2024 on grain headed for Vancouver. The Quorum report indicated that this pattern of dynamic pricing has been in use by the railways since the 2021-22 crop year.

While both CN and CPKC note that these rates remain within the limits of Canada’s Maximum Revenue Entitlement system (a federal regulation that limits the total revenue the and CPKC can earn from moving regulated western grain each crop year), Quorum’s report argues that the increased variability in rail freight pricing is adding challenges for grain exporters who are making sales when rail freight costs may change significantly before it is time to deliver. Critics also warn that efforts to redistribute grain shipments throughout the year could undermine Canada’s export competitiveness by limiting the industry’s ability to respond to seasonal market opportunities.

Further this dynamic pricing system and higher transportation costs are affecting producers as they reduce the price per tonne that grain farmers receive at the elevator in the fall while grain companies are spending more to move canola, wheat and other grains to port in first half of the crop year.

Copy of full report here.

A new Economic Impact of West Coast Ports Study highlights the crucial role Canada’s West Coast ports play in supporting national trade objectivs, jobs, and economic growth across the country. The study comes at a time when Canada is seeking to diversify trade and expand exports to markets beyond the United States.

Source Port of Vancouver