Local beekeepers worry U.S. trade war may impact honey industry, bee health

Uncertainty stemming from Canada’s trade with the United States is seeping into the local beekeeping industry.

While most honey and equipment are still traded freely between the two nations, the worry is that many honey producers still rely on our southern neighbours for vital items, namely queen bees.

Luc Peters is the beekeeper in charge of around 30 hive boxes near his store The Humble Bee.

For the past seven years, the hives – referred to as “queendoms” – have produced breeding grounds for queen bees.

“We are doing some genetic selection to make sure that we are raising the healthiest bees for the industry here,” said Peters, who is also the president of the Golden Horseshoe Bee Keepers Association. “The healthier the queen, the more resilient the entire colony is, essentially.”

There are around 60,000 bees in a single hive, and there are dozens that can be found at the bee yard next to the Sherman Inlet.

While honey and beekeeping equipment are still traded freely under the Canada-United States-Mexico Free Trade Agreement without any tariffs, the worry for many local beekeepers is that necessary items will soon be harder to acquire – namely queen bees.

Peters also said the price of some equipment has already gone up amid the uncertainty.

“There’s been issues with availability of bee imports from the United States into Canada, and that might change,” said Peters. “It’s kind of scary because we have a very short window where we want to get bees into the country, so if it impacts that, it can make a difference on billions of dollars of pollination happening in this country.”

While some queen bees come from places like Peters’ colony, many are also imported.

Around three-quarters come from the U.S., while around two-thirds of Canada’s honey exports head back south of the border.

Amid tariff woes, the federal and provincial government says they are looking to help local beekeepers improve the resilience of their hives and businesses.

Under the Honey Bee Health Initiative, first announced in 2023, the governments say they have given $1.7 million to 206 local beekeepers, funding 334 individual projects.

While he welcomes any investment in the industry, Peters said the top thing for beekeepers looking to improve resilience, is bee health.

“The top three issues agreed upon by researchers are climate change, habitat loss, and agri-chemicals,” said Peters.

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