On 15 April 2015, it was announced that a 50.1% majority stake in CWB would be acquired by Global Grain Group, a joint venture of Bunge Limited and the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company, for $250 million.

The third-highest sales year for wheat industry in Canada was 2011–2012 when the CWB "sold $7.2-billion worth of grain to more than 70 countries, $4.9 billion of which was paid back to farmers.

By 1915, the government had assumed control of all wheat exports to support the war effort, and by 1917, futures trading on the Winnipeg Exchange was banned.

Farmers expressed concerns that after the war, prices might decline, leading various agrarian groups to lobby Ottawa to keep the Board in place.

This system of guaranteed prices and distributed income was well received and when the Board dissolved in 1920, many farmers dissented.

The Canadian Wheat Board was re-created in 1935 with the aim of controlling grain prices to benefit farmers devastated by the Great Depression.

Upon delivery to an elevator, farmers received an initial payment for their grain from the CWB that represented a percentage of the expected return for that grade from the pool account.

These initial payments were intentionally set below expectations for the crop year as a risk management measure to mitigate the possibility of unmet price expectations.[timeframe?]

[11] Until 15 December 2011, compliance with the wheat board was mandatory for most farmers and elevators[12][13][14] under threat of punishable by fines and/or imprisonment.

Unlike the United States, Canada had a tight grading system established by the Canadian Grain Commission and enforced by the CWB.

[16] Since 2006 when the Conservative Party came to power, Chuck Strahl, then Minister of Agriculture, worked towards ending the Wheat Board's Single Desk.

[17][18] Ian Robson, whose great-grandfather played a role in initiating the co-operative pool system, contended that as a multi-generational small farmer, he relied on the CWB to counterbalance the influence of the railway.

[3] Western Grain Elevator Association's director, Wade Sobkowich, argued that railways were increasing profitability by reducing capacity.

[3] On September 17, 2014, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt's office announced the decision to issue administrative monetary penalties to CN for failing to meet the minimum volume requirements under the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act.

According to University of Saskatchewan professor, Murray Fulton, "This level of concentration, along with a lack of excess capacity" gave grain handling firms market power to raise prices above the cost of providing the service.

[citation needed] Some opponents of the board's Single Desk power suggested it should be replaced by a 'dual market' system.

Some CWB opponents have argued that much of the lower quality land is in close proximity to the US border and would be the first to realize the benefits of the US market.

[citation needed] In a September 2011 plebiscite (referendum) conducted by Meyers Norris Penny, 62% of CWB farmers voted that they wanted to keep the wheat board and its Single Desk power.

[31] Proponents of maintaining the CWB stated that the collective bargaining power of the wheat board gives farmers a better price than they would have if they were individually marketing to large multi-national corporations.

[33] Supporters of the Single Desk feared that an end to the board would put farmers in a situation like in the early part of the 20th century where farmers effectively competed with each other to sell their grain, effectively putting them at the mercy of big agribusiness and the railroad monopolies, believing that would reduce farm incomes.

Despite numerous challenges and much posturing by the United States, the World Trade Organization ruled in 2003 that the Wheat Board was a producer marketing body and not a system for government subsidy although the decision has since been overturned.

Farmers in Eastern Canada (east of Manitoba) and most of British Columbia (non-Peace River) were exempt from the CWB's Single Desk control of non-feed wheat and barley—Ontario has its own marketing board, but it is not compulsory.

[38] Others argued that the voter's list was flawed, as it included many small or part-time producers who may not deliver to the Board, as well as non-producers such as landowners whose livelihood might not solely rely on farming.

The Conservatives had been unable to get this change approved by Parliament because they held a minority of seats until the May 2011 federal election and all opposition parties supported the Single Desk.

[23][better source needed] In the aftermath, Harper and then Minister of Agriculture Chuck Strahl stated their intent to continue with the removal of the traditional role of the CWB, particularly in regards to barley (which is generally a more corporate crop[41]), perhaps through Parliamentary action.

[42][43][44] After winning a majority in the May 2011 general election, the Conservative government announced its intention to remove the CWB Single Desk through legislation.

In defending this policy, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz claimed the CWB plebiscites were seriously flawed and that the Conservatives' election victory gave them a mandate to remove the Single Desk.

"[46][47] The Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act instituted a timeline for the eventual privatization of CWB, requiring the board to formulate a plan by 2016, to be implemented in 2017.