Canada's grain sector is breathing a sigh of relief following a quick end to the CP Rail Strike as over 3000 CP train operation on the back on the job. 

This after the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference reached a tentative four-year agreement with CP after walking off the job late last week.

Wade Sobkowich, the Executive Director of the Western Grain Elevators Association, is pleased with how quickly the strike ended.

"It's about 20 million dollars in grain that didn't move in one day," he said. "We're going to try and make that up, and we hope that CP is going to do everything in their power to provide some search capacity so we can try and make up that which we lost, but having a stoppage of only one day is certainly something we can live with given the alternative."

He notes there aren't any provisions in the Canada Transportation Act or Canada Labor Code to declare grain or rail service an essential service adding it's something that should be looked at.

Sobkowich said that he hopes the strike, though short, as an impact. 

"Even the threat of a strike has an impact," he said. "Our customers here about those things and they hear about labour unrest here in Canada from time to time with our railways, and it does have an impact. It is something that I think this government should consider in the future is how to provide more stability."

Sobkowich says ideally it would be good for the ag sector if the grain rail system was deemed an essential service like the vessel loaders are at the Ports.