Farm Credit Canada says head office will remain in Regina after rumour raised in question period

Farm Credit Canada, a federal Crown corporation, says there is no truth to a rumour the leader of the Saskatchewan United Party brought in question period this week about its head offices moving from Regina to Quebec

“It has come to my attention that Farm Credit Canada plans to close its head office in Regina and move it to Quebec. This would be a disastrous result for Saskatchewan,” Sask. United Party Leader Nadine Wilson said during question period on Thursday.

Wilson asked Premier Scott Moe to “confirm or deny this move.”

Moe told reporters following question period that he did not know of any potential move, nor did the government, and expressed the importance of FCC to the city of Regina and the province.

 

 “While FCC is a national organization with a national mandate, we value being a part of Regina and share a passion for this community”

 

“They’re just simply rumours. We have no official correspondence, no official heads-up in any way that there’s any movement of not even one job from Regina to somewhere else,” Moe said.

FCC said in a statement to CBC that the rumour was false.

“To be absolutely clear, FCC is not moving its head office from Regina. While FCC is a national organization with a national mandate, we value being a part of Regina and share a passion for this community, along with our more than 1,000 FCC employees who call this community home,” a spokesperson for FCC said.

“There is a lot of important work ahead for FCC as we serve our customers and the Canadian agriculture and food industry, and that is where our focus remains.” 

FCC employs more than 2,300 people total at 103 offices, including its headquarters in downtown Regina.

“When it comes to FCC it needs to be headquartered here,” Moe said.

Moe mentioned he met briefly with the leadership at FCC a few months ago and expressed his feelings.

“This is the place for FCC to be centred because of what we do here in Saskatchewan and on the Prairie provinces, and agriculture that is not only leading the nation in Canada but is leading the world.”

The Saskatchewan United Party issued a news release shortly after Wilson’s question in the house saying “multiple high-level sources” told the party that FCC was moving.

“It is highly concerning that the Moe government was completely unaware that the Trudeau government had made this decision to move the FCC out of the province,” Wilson is quoted as saying in the release.

Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck said she was not aware of any plans for a move at FCC. She said any move would be “deeply concerning.”