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Alan Skardal has voted for the federal Conservatives for more than 30 years, but insists the ballot he cast for them last Jan. 23 was his last.

The grain and cattle farmer from Baldur, Man., says his commitment never wavered despite Tory-supported agriculture policies that cost him and his neighbours thousands of dollars through the years - from elimination of a grain transportation subsidy to support for meat packers during the mad cow crisis.

But the party's decision to look at ending the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly on western wheat and barley exports before letting farmers vote on it is the last straw.

"I don't know who I will vote for in the next federal election, but I do know who it won't be. I will never vote Conservative again," Skardal, 50, wrote this month in a letter to the editor of the Farmers Independent Weekly.

Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel sees things differently.

The 27-year-old from Mossbank, Sask., is a fifth-generation grain farmer and president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.

She marked her X for Tory candidate David Anderson precisely because his party promised to end the board's monopoly.

"It had a tremendous role in how I voted," said Jolly-Nagel. "It was THE issue in all the debates in our riding."

Anderson, a farmer, won Cyprus Hills-Grasslands and is parliamentary secretary to Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl.

Late last month, Strahl struck a committee to figure out the best way to keep the party's election promise. The seven-member task force will report to Strahl later this month about how the board could operate "in a marketing choice environment."

The Canadian Wheat Board turned down an invitation to participate, saying farmers aren't being given enough of a voice.

The issue has divided farmers and politicians for years, but the debate has intensified with this signal that the Tories are serious about making it a priority.

The NDP governments of Saskatchewan and Manitoba strongly support the board and want the Conservatives to let farmers decide its future. Alberta's Conservative government opposes the monopoly.

The provincial NDP has released documents showing the Alberta government spent $1 million over fours years on a campaign to undermine the Canadian Wheat Board.

Premier Ralph Klein's government has been openly opposed for many years to the wheat board's monopoly over western wheat and barley sales.

But this is the first time Alberta taxpayers have seen how much the province was spending on the Choice Matters campaign, which pushed for farmers to have the option of selling their grain privately.

The federal government, which campaigned on a promise to dismantle the wheat board, has issued an order that prevents the agency from advocating on its own behalf.

As well, Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl has formed a committee to recommend ways to end the wheat board's monopoly, although supporters argue that dismantling the board requires a plebiscite.

Ray Martin, the Alberta NDP's agriculture critic, says changes to the wheat board should be left up to farmers.

The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment, gave Canadians the first and central component of Canada's New Government's environmental Agenda when she introduced Canada's Clean Air Act in Parliament today.

"We listened to Canadians. They told us they were concerned about worsening air quality and increasing emissions of greenhouse gases," said Minister Ambrose. "After more than a decade of inaction on the environment by the previous government, Canada's Clean Air Act is the first step in turning things around to protect the health of Canadians."