By Robb M. Stewart
OTTAWA--Canadian farmers planted more acres of canola and soybeans for this year but less wheat.
Planting has been slower than normal on the Canadian prairies but was largely complete by the end of May, while seeding in central Canada progressed at a normal pace despite wetter than usual conditions in some areas, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
Provincial crop reports indicate seeding in Alberta began later than usual, though it was largely in line with the average by end-May, while in Saskatchewan planting rose significantly toward the end of May yet remained behind five- and 10-year averages, the data agency said. Manitoba farmers saw a slow start but were able to finish seeding in line with historical averages.
Nationally, farmers reported planting 25.3 million acres of wheat in 2026, a drop of 5.9% from the year before.
The fall was led by a 3.9% decline in acres of spring wheat to 18.1 million. The area of Durum wheat was down 10.3% to 5.9 million acres, and winter wheat was 11.5% lower at 1.4 million acres compared with a year earlier.
The area planted for canola was up 8.4% to a record 23.4 million acres this year, topping the previous high of 23 million set in 2017. Statistics Canada said the rise in canola acreage in 2026 may have been due to favorable prices relative to other crops coupled with strong demand.
Canadian farmers planted 6 million acres of soybeans, a rise of 3.1% from 2025. In Ontario, the largest soybean growing province, the seeded area dipped 0.6% to 2.9 million acres, but in Manitoba farmers planted the highest area for soybeans since 2017, up 16.2% from last year at 1.9 million acres.
The June survey collected information on field crop seeded areas in Canada from about 25,000 farmers. Data on final acreages for the year are scheduled to be released Dec. 4.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com