With American president Donald Trump having imposed punishing tariffs against Canada earlier in March and repeatedly threatening to make Canada his 51st state, commercial fishers on Lake Winnipeg are helping their industry showcase wild-caught freshwater fish and perhaps hook up with potential new fish-buying partners.
Canadian businesses and industries are actively looking for new non-American markets to tap into and partners with whom to build trusted trade relationships, and the freshwater fishing industry is no different.
Last week, members of the Gimli-based Kristjanson commercial fishing clan played host to potential fish buyers from a major French frozen food company called Picard Surgeles.
Robert T. Kristjanson said he and his son Chris and grandson Trevor took over a dozen people on the frozen lake at Hecla-Grindstone, including representatives from Picard and staff from the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation [FFMC]. The fishers let the French drive their bombardiers on the lake and had them lift a net.
“This visit doesn’t mean the Picard people will buy our fish. The French already buy a lot of jackfish (pike) from the marketing board,” said Robert T. Kristjanson, who along with his family was featured in the television series Ice Vikings. “But this visit had a different purpose; they wanted to see other types of fish we catch. Jackfish is native to France so they know this fish very well. But as far as walleye (pickerel) and whitefish go, they don’t know it and wanted to see it.”
After half a day on the lake, the fishers brought their visitors back to Gimli where they had lunch – pickerel fillets and Canadian whiskey – at the Lakeview Resort.
“This was not a pleasure trip,” said Kristjanson. “We’re trying to find new markets for our fish now that Canada is up against American tariffs. We want to get people outside of Canada interested in our high quality freshwater fish and show them how we catch it and how it’s handled on the way to market.”
France purchases unspecified kilograms of fish from the Canadian federal government-owned FFMC, which is headquartered in Winnipeg and operates a processing plant in Transcona. FFMC buys fish from commercial fishers in Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan, and has a mandate to buy from Alberta, whose commercial fishing industry is currently defunct. According to FFMC’s 2024 annual report, the fish is used in France for making a traditional dish called quenelle, which is a mixture of creamed fish (typically a lean, white fish such as pike) that’s combined with breadcrumbs, eggs and other ingredients.
“FFMC’s international reach extends through both food service and retail marketing channels. FFMC is one of the world’s largest and most consistent suppliers of wild-caught walleye, lake whitefish, mullet, and northern pike. FFMC provides western and northern Canadian commercial fish harvesters access to global customers as a brand leader in several foreign markets,” states FFMC’s annual report. “FFMC’s stringent handling, transportation and processing standards ensure all fish products meet regulatory requirements. FFMC works closely with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to ensure its supply chain meets federal and customer requirements for food safety and quality.”
Interest by the French in perhaps purchasing more fish or different kinds of wild-caught fish from western and northern Canada is an opportunity Manitoba’s commercial fishers are eager to explore.
Chris Kristjanson said Picard Surgeles is a very large frozen food chain that’s similar to the Canadian-owned M&M Food Market.
Picard has, according to a quick Internet search, about 1,000 retail stores in France and also operates in other countries. And it clearly likes to offer its customers a lot of choice as it has hundreds and hundreds of different frozen meals, including various kinds of fish.
“Picard is a highly trusted name in France and is important to the marketing board because this a way for [FFMC] to add value to fish that the French haven’t had before. Picard could potentially want to sell our fish in their stores,” said Kristjanson. “This is why we wanted to show them – they’ve never been on the ice before – where this fish is coming from … and the entire chain of custody. They got an authentic experience on the lake, from learning where the escape hatch is in the bombardier and driving it across the lake to pulling up a net and identifying the fish in it.”
The visit also included a tour of an FFMC fish-packing facility in the Gimli Industrial Park and a tour of the FFMC processing plant in Winnipeg.
The marketing board sends a lot of fish to the United States, said Kristjanson, because we have enough resources to meet our own needs. But now that Trump has imposed tariffs against Canada, the fishing industry has to think outside the tote.
“The United States is our biggest consumer of Canadian products including fish. In the atmosphere we’re in right now with U.S. tariffs, what’s more important than showcasing a Canadian product from Manitoba, caught on a Manitoba lake, processed by a Manitoba plant in Winnipeg, tailored to what particular customers want and shipped to them?” he said. “This is what we’re striving for when we talk about getting behind made-in-Canada products … and looking for potential partners in Europe with whom to do business. I think the most important thing for our potential partners is to see where our products comes from.”
Consumers are concerned about eco-certification and want to understand how their food is grown or caught, said Kristjanson. The government is in the process of certifying more Manitoba lakes that supply wild-caught fish.
“People want to know if their fish is being grown in a swamp in China. People are more conscious of where their food is coming from; they want to feel warm and fuzzy when they’re eating food. They want to know it’s sustainable. This is how we have to operate when selling our fish in the global marketplace,” said Kristjanson. “This is a critical time for the future of the fishing industry. If we have somebody in the U.S. deciding to put a 25 per cent tariff against Canada today then deciding 50 per cent might be better tomorrow – we just can’t sustain that type of dealing. It’s too erratic. We can’t live like this for another four years. We need to broaden our reach.”
Kristjanson said he’s hoping Manitoba and federal politicians “get on board” to stimulate interest in Canadian fish and promote the fishing industry.
As for the outcome of the visit with Picard’s representatives, Kristjanson said he doesn’t know whether it resulted in a deal, but he enjoyed showing his French visitors how fishers work.
“I was left with a very good impression of the visit. Nothing bad can come from this; we were able to showcase our fish. The Picard representatives will go back to France armed with stories of driving the bombardiers, taking a net out of the water, learning how we process and manage our fish and following the fish through each stage until it ready for the market,” he said. “From lake to plate, Picard saw it all. And I’d be happy to take other potential buyers on the lake to show them what Manitoba has.”
The Express reached out to FFMC for comment.
