As published in The Hill Times, an English-only outlet.

Nearly a decade ago, the federal government released its Economic Strategy Tables report on agri-food, and laid out an ambitious plan to turn Canada into a global agricultural superpower. Through market diversification, a competitive regulatory environment, transportation and digital infrastructure, and a stable labour supply, Canada could become a top five exporter of agri-food products globally.

Spoiler: Canada did not achieve these lofty goals. Instead of becoming top five, our market share shrunk. We now rank behind countries like China and Brazil, whose exports have grown even faster to fill demand in high-growth regions. While it’s true that we have surpassed nominal export goals — more than 50% growth between 2017 and 2024, from $65-billion to $100-billion — declining market share means that we are leaving agri-food potential untapped, translating to billions of dollars in lost economic opportunity.

Much has changed since the report’s release, but one very important factor remains: The world’s population is still growing rapidly and needs more food. Estimates predict food demand growth of up to 100% by 2050. Burgeoning middle classes in high-growth regions are changing dietary habits, accelerating demand for high-quality, protein-rich foods. Against this backdrop, and given our significant reserves of arable land and global recognition of our high-quality agri-food products and sustainable production, it seems obvious that Canada should be an agri-food leader.

And we can be, but to compete globally, Canadian producers and industry need access to the latest tools and technology. Unfortunately, access is often restricted or delayed for reasons that seem inconsistent with scientific evidence, such as limits on pesticide use that differ from our global competitors, or because there is a lack of co-ordination between the various regulatory agencies with mandates touching the sector, leaving the industry facing a series of conflicting requirements, such as the recent slew of new packaging and labelling rules.

We should preserve our trustworthy regulatory system — after all, it’s largely why our food products enjoy such a strong reputation globally — but we also need to give producers and industry more freedom to innovate and adopt new technologies. The federal Red Tape Review is a good start to creating an agile regulatory system, but changes relating to agriculture have so far lacked the needed ambition.

Similarly, the sector not only needs access to the latest tools and technology, but also support in adopting them. Our industry needs to keep pace as global food production becomes increasingly automated and digitized. However, our R&D investment lags behind peers — research cuts at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada could further hamper the sector’s performance — and uptake of digital tools is relatively slow. The sector has not received its share from federal innovation programs, such as the Strategic Response Fund. Addressing these gaps will boost productivity and support the development of new products that can compete globally, as well as helping to address labour constraints.

Innovation and productivity growth are key to regaining our market share, but with that comes the imperative that we are ready to meet increased demand. Our customers must be able to trust that we will consistently deliver our quality product on time, particularly as the global geopolitical environment becomes more volatile, because there are few things more important to national security than a stable food supply. Yet, Canada’s current trade infrastructure status quo won’t be enough to accommodate increased capacity, needing an additional $13–20-billion in investment to catch up to our competitors. This will also need to be combined with faster project approvals and fewer damaging labour disruptions that bring our supply chains to a grinding halt.

Canada’s agri-food opportunity is clear: Analyses have shown that we could grow our market share by 30% and add $44-billion in exports by 2035 if we commit to the necessary policy actions as outlined above. But, as the last decade has proved, others will step up if we don’t.

Liam MacDonald, Director, Policy and Government Relations, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
See this Op-ed blog on the CCC website.

If you would like to read more about the policies and recommendations we have related to our agriculture and agri-food sector, click here