The federal conservatives have named Alberta M-P Chris Warkentin as the opposition agriculture critic.

One of the key issues he plans to focus on is market access and strength.

Warkentin says they're hopeful the new liberal government will ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership to expand market access.

“We for too long have depended primarily on the United States market for the products that we use and the United States will always be our number one trading partner but the reality is when they hit a slump we are all impacted as farmers across the country. What we need to ensure is that we have alternative markets that we can continue to not rely on a single market but actually have access to additional markets to ensure were not held basically hostage by the Americans if they take a slump.”

He says country of origin labelling in the U-S and Bill Six in Alberta are other issues that will be priorities for the conservatives.

Warkentin grew up on a farm, and says its a privilage and an opportunity to represent farm voices across Canada.

“I look forward to meeting farm families across the country and meeting with producers in the years to come and really being a strong voice to advocate in Ottawa. Obviously we’re very concerned about the Trudeaus cabinet having been very urban centric and having very few members with any connection to the farm and so we will serve in a constructive way to ensure that the voice of the farmers is brought to the table.”