SaskatchewanCanadian Western Agribition is back. A traditional Burning of the Brand ceremony took place on Monday to officially kick off the week-long event.Saskatchewan’s largest agriculture show injects more than $120M into the provincial economy, organizers sayJeffery Tram · CBC News · Posted: Nov 24, 2025 6:53 PM EST | Last Updated: 38 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Saskatchewan Lt.-Gov Bernadette McIntyre burning the brand on a piece of wood to kick off the 54th Agribition (Jeffery Tram/CBC)Canadian Western Agribition is back.A traditional burning of the brand ceremony took place on Monday to officially kick off the week-long event.Saskatchewan’s Lt.-Gov. Bernadette McIntyre had the honour of burning the brand into a piece of wood.”I was so excited, because I’ve been seeing people do this for decades,” McIntyre said. “I never ever dreamed I’d get to burn the brand at Agribition.”The Agribition logo burned into a piece of wood. (Jeffery Tram/CBC)Over the last 54 years, Agribition has grown from a small livestock sale into a week-long celebration of the province’s farming culture, the global livestock industry and agricultural innovation. The event draws thousands of visitors, competitors and international buyers to the Queen City, and includes rodeos, exhibitors, bison, an Indigenous Agriculture Summit and a Party on the Dirt.McIntyre said she has attended every single show since the first one in 1971. She said Agribition reflects the province’s identity more than any other Saskatchewan event.“Agribition is the salt of Saskatchewan — it depicts everything that’s wonderful about Saskatchewan,” McIntyre said. “The history of agriculture goes hundreds of years back, and it includes everyone, and we grow and raise the food that feeds the world.”McIntyre says the event’s significance is both cultural and global.“It is a huge, huge show that is international, it is worldwide,” she said. “In rural Saskatchewan, we are world class.”A major economic engineAgribition CEO Shaun Kindopp said the event rakes in millions of dollars for Saskatchewan’s economy, filling hotels, bars and restaurants during a time of year that usually sees lower tourism traffic.“Anytime that an event can inject over $120 million into the provincial economic impact is incredibly important,” he said.A grooming demonstration at Agribition. (Kirk Fraser/CBC)But Kindopp said Agribition is about more than commerce — it’s about helping visitors understand modern agriculture.“Food doesn’t just show up on shelves,” he said. “We want to show that it’s sustainable, that it’s safe, that the animals are well cared for — but it’s also business.”He said school groups and youth education programs continue to grow, noting that many Saskatchewan residents first experienced Agribition as elementary school students.A big year for Saskatchewan rodeoFor Abbey Harty, who last month was named Miss Rodeo Canada 2026, this year’s show is especially meaningful. She said she has travelled more than 20,000 kilometres this year representing Saskatchewan rodeo and agriculture, and she wanted to celebrate her success back at the place where she made her name.“Being able to represent this brand, there’s nothing like it,” Harty said. “We have such a connection here to all the people in this building and to our livestock and our agriculture.”She said Agribition will always have a special place in her heart.”There’s nothing like our show in in Canada,” she said.McIntyre agreed.“If you come to Agribition and you don’t have fun, maybe it’s your fault.”Agribition will run until Nov. 29 at the Brandt Centre.ABOUT THE AUTHORJeffery is a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan in Regina. He previously worked at CBC Toronto as an associate producer. You can reach him at jeffery.tram@cbc.ca.
Burning of the Brand kicks off Agribition’s 54th year
