(Image Credit: ID 261003872 © Doug Gordon | Dreamstime.com)

By Cam Lee

Gov't of Sask. disappointed

Emergency strychnine use request for Richardson’s ground squirrel population denied

Feb 3, 2026 | 7:00 AM

The provincial government is voicing its displeasure about Health Canada’s rejection of the emergency use of strychnine in 2026. 

Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) denied Saskatchewan and Alberta’s joint emergency use registration request for two per cent liquid strychnine for Richardson’s ground squirrel management. 

Agriculture Minister David Marit said Saskatchewan producers have made it clear that managing Richardson’s ground squirrels with the tools available has been an incredible challenge.  

“We are extremely disappointed by PMRA’s decision and ask them to reconsider this decision,” Marit said. “We need a federal regulatory system that considers economic impacts felt by producers and realities on the ground.” 

Saskatchewan and Alberta jointly submitted the emergency use request last October, after producers expressed concerns about alternatives to deal with the issue. 

File photo of an irrigation system on a farm in southern Alberta.

Water supplies in southern Alberta strong in early 2026

Feb 19, 2026

Excite Lethbridge

Cultivating Community: How Excite Lethbridge Is Growing Agriculture in Southern Alberta

Feb 13, 2026

Rocky Ag Society takes the E.A.T tour on the road

Feb 12, 2026

PMRA’s decision means that producers won’t have access to strychnine for Richardson’s ground squirrel control this growing season. 

“Saskatchewan maintains that the emergency use request included robust, science-based and strengthened mitigation measures—such as narrower application windows, mandatory training, enhanced reporting requirements and improved stewardship—to reduce risks to nontarget species while preserving the product’s practical value for producers,” the provincial government said in a news release. “While PMRA determined these measures were not sufficient to mitigate risk to an acceptable level, Saskatchewan remains adamant that all PMRA’s requests were responded to.” 

The provincial government added that they will continue to advocate for a science-based system that considers economic impacts. They said their efforts will focus on delivery of support through the Gopher Control Program, administered by the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities; targeted extension efforts to improve the on-farm performance of registered alternatives, and investments in research focused on best management practices, environmental risk mitigation, population monitoring, and predictive modelling.