Ottawa authorizes emergency use of strychnine in Alberta, Saskatchewan to solve gopher problem | CBC News

Ottawa is authorizing the controlled and time-limited emergency use of strychnine in Alberta and Saskatchewan to deal with millions of dollars worth of damage caused by an attack by Richardson’s ground squirrels, also known as gophers.

Alberta and Saskatchewan submitted a revised, joint emergency use application to Health Canada last week, after an earlier proposal was rejected by the Pest Control Agency in February.

The agency banned the use of strychnine two years ago, arguing that the substance poses risks to other wildlife species – which can include endangered species such as the swift fox and the tawny owl – that eat the poisoned carcasses.

The approved provincial application includes additional restrictions and measures to reduce the environmental risk of rodenticides “to an acceptable level,” Health Canada said in a news release issued Monday.

“This is good news for producers across the Prairies,” RJ Sigurdson, Alberta’s minister of agriculture and irrigation, wrote in an X post.

“This is a huge win for our agricultural industry, ensuring our producers have the tools they need to manage their operations effectively and continue to deliver high-quality products.”

Under the Pest Control Products Act, Ottawa is authorizing two provinces to register strychnine under emergency registration until November 2027.

Farmers across Alberta and Saskatchewan are calling for the possibility of using strychnine again to control the inflammation of Richardson’s ground squirrels. Pests attack different types of crops.

Strychnine, in a two percent liquid form, was a gopher control solution on farms in two states before the federal government began to phase out its use to control the pest in 2020. In 2024, it banned it entirely because of the environmental risks posed by the toxin.

“Producers in Saskatchewan have made clear the challenges they face in controlling gophers with the limited resources currently available,” David Marit, Saskatchewan’s agriculture minister, said in a news release.

“We are pleased to see the emergency use application granted as a practical opportunity for producers to demonstrate how strychnine can help protect their crops and pastures from further damage.”

Wade Nelson, a farmer near High River, Alta., said he saw 170 acres of his canola crop wiped out by the gopher attack. He applauded the government’s decision to re-authorize strychnine for emergency use.

“It’s been a really big deal for us and for our larger and broader community, Alberta and Saskatchewan … I mean, it’s a big deal for us,” he said.

“It’s been a really big fight. So losing strychnine as an effective tool was a tough pill to swallow. There’s no reasonable, safe alternative for its administration, and that’s why this is a good thing to have.”

Nelson said he would like to see the permit extend beyond 2027.

He said he hopes that manufacturers, working with municipalities, can prove “that we can use this product safely and effectively so that we don’t have to maintain the kind of, you know, [being] we are always on a knife edge as to whether we will be able to continue with that or not.”