That’s despite the effects of avian influenza on the country’s flock.

WHY IT MATTERS: Canadian egg producers have capitalized on demand for economical protein.

Egg production expanded by 7.6 per cent last year to 937 million dozen, with per capita egg consumption on the rise, Egg Farmers of Canada reported. During 2025, 1.5 million hens were temporarily added to the system to meet demand.

That included annual egg sales rising 5.8 per cent, with foodservice demand up 2.6 per cent. Also, the number of households consuming six or fewer eggs per week was down four per cent, which Egg Farmers of Canada attributed in part to its new ‘Eggs Everywhere’ campaign.

Demand for economical protein was also a boon to egg demand, FCC reported in February.

To combat salmonella enteritidis, all hens in Canada will now have to be vaccinated against that infection.

The phasing out of conventional housing systems continued with 39.5 per cent of the national flock still in such systems, down from 42 per cent in 2024 and 52.9 per cent in 2021.

The project’s lead researcher is so excited she’s putting off retirement.

“I want the first experiment in a system like this. This is so exciting,” Karen Schwean-Lardner said in a University of Saskatchewan news release.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation announced $6.2 million in funding to build a state-of-the-art poultry laying facility at the University. The foundation is a federal government-created non-profit set up in 1997 to fund research infrastructure in Canada.

WHY IT MATTERS: The proposed facility will allow researchers to improve poultry barn lighting, housing and food systems for better animal welfare and egg production.

The Saskatchewan Egg Producers contributed $3 million while the university’s agriculture and bioresource department added $1 million.

“This will move us so far forward in poultry research,” said Schwean-Lardner in the release. Schwean-Lardner is a professor in the university’s department of animal and poultry science.

The nearly 24,000-square-foot facility is set to include three types of hen housing: enriched, free run and free-range. Ten individual housing rooms will have controls for lighting, temperature and other environmental factors.

“Each one is like a little mini-barn,” Schwean-Larder told media.

“Big data is getting more attention these days. We have a lot of data that can be gathered over time, and this unit is going to allow us to manage that data and collect it over a long period of time,” assistant professor Deborah Adewole said. “There are going to be a lot of new things that we can do for poultry research.”

The facility will also include viewing rooms so public groups — for example, schoolchildren — can see the chickens and housing systems while reducing biosecurity risks.

“We can control the environment. Right now, we cannot do that in the same way,” said Adewole. “This facility is one of its kind in Canada. There are other universities that have built new facilities, but this one is encompassing all systems and has space for public viewing systems as well — which is a first in Canada.”

Schwean-Larder said her first experiment would look at the effects of light on the hens and will involve researchers from the U.S.

“To be able to do that kind of research with an international perspective, I can’t stand it. I’m losing my voice because I’m excited.”

Alexandra Harlander is a professor in the department of animal biosciences at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College.

Her appointment as research chair in poultry welfare is part of a $1.3 million investment to ensure research at the university, “continues to guide animal care standards and inform management decisions” according to a Feb. 26 news release.

Harlander’s research focuses on understanding hen behaviour across different housing systems. Her work has contributed to the National Farm Animal Care Council’s codes of practice, the release said. She has also contributed to several industry programs, including a national feather-scoring system.

“True animal care is shared care. It includes the hens, the farmers and the farm families in every barn across the country,” Harlander said in the news release.

“I strive to develop practical, science-based solutions that benefit the birds and the well-being of the people who care for them,” she said. “I look forward to working directly with farmers and their birds to address the challenges they face.”

Harlander succeeds Tina Widowski, who held the chair since 2011.

For example, before 2021 ground beef was about $1.00 per pound cheaper than chicken breast, wrote FCC senior economist Graeme Crosbie in a Feb. 11 report. Since mid-2024, the price of ground beef has caught and even surpassed the price of chicken breast in some months.

Chicken prices at retail, farm gate

This rise in beef prices has pushed consumers toward other meats, like chicken and pork. Since 2022, pork prices have risen by more than 13 per cent, chicken prices by almost 22 per cent, and beef prices by nearly 38 per cent, FCC reported on Jan. 28.

Additional demand for chicken has led to higher prices. Fresh or frozen chicken prices rose by an average of 6.7 per cent in the final three months of 2025, FCC said. January to September, they rose 0.9 per cent on average per month.

The rise has been largely independent of farm gate prices in the latter half of the year.

FCC predicted that farm gate prices for chicken will be flat to lower in 2026 as feed costs are expected to remain low.

“Margins will remain positive given strong demand and aforementioned low feed costs,” Crosbie wrote.

Crosbie noted that there’s some concern that avian influenza will hamper producers’ ability to fill demand — particularly in B.C. However, 5.6 per cent more more chicks were placed for broiler production in the latter half of 2025 than in the same period in 2024.

“Assuming avian flu outbreaks are well controlled, this bodes well for production numbers in the first part of 2026,” Crosbie wrote.

Imports of chicken under the Canada-United States-Mexico (CUSMA) and Trans-Pacific (CPTPP) trade agreements reached nearly 100 per cent of tariff-rate quotas for the first time in 2025.

Egg demand, production up

Eggs are also benefiting from demand for economical protein.

While egg consumption per capita has been on the rise since the 90s, there was a “significant jump” in the second half of 2025, said Crosbie.

Specifically, the number of eggs available for consumption rose to 5.54 dozen per person in the third quarter of 2025 from 5.00 dozen per person in the same quarter of 2024.

This “indicates a large increase in production amid slowing population growth,” Crosbie said.

Two opposing forces appear to be in play, Crosbie wrote. There appear to be plenty of eggs available, while there’s only anecdotal evidence of the impacts over the winter of avian influenza on laying flocks.

“Quota allocation may be slowed or altered to begin the year if no significant production capacity was lost,” Crosbie wrote.

“Regardless, the longer-term outlook for egg consumption and production continues to be positive.”

For more than 50 years, Canada’s supply management system has delivered something remarkable: a reliable supply of high-quality, nutritious food produced by Canadian farmers for Canadian families. That’s not just good policy—it’s good for people. At a time of much uncertainty, it is more important now than ever to have the right systems in place to ensure Canada’s ability to feed itself today and into the future.

Follow all our Federal Election 2025 coverage here

Every day, over 1,200 Canadian egg farmers and farm families produce fresh, local eggs from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia and everywhere in between. Together, our industry supports over 18,500 jobs across the country and contributes $1.3 billion to Canada’s GDP annually. These aren’t abstract numbers—they’re families, businesses, and rural communities that witness firsthand the benefits of supply management.

What makes this food system so unique is its made-in-Canada logic. Supply management empowers egg farmers to match production with demand, which in turn provides predictability for farmers, food processors, and consumers. That’s the kind of smart, self-sufficient model Canadians rely on. It’s a system that focuses on coordination, collaboration, and a deep respect for the food we produce, the people who produce it, and the Canadians who enjoy it.

As we have seen in recent years, supply management has helped Canada remain resilient, and it will continue to ensure we have strong domestic food supply chains even in the face of external market shocks and supply chain challenges. That’s not just an economic advantage—it’s a national security asset. In fact, with the ongoing geopolitical tensions, over 90 per cent of Canadians are convinced of the need to maintain Canada’s supply management system.

Throughout the campaign, we have been hearing a lot about affordability, jobs, local businesses and building an efficient, green economy. The good news is that supply management already delivers on many of these priorities, and its continued success depends on ongoing political leadership. Leadership that values strong domestic food production in a rapidly shifting global economy and recognizes that Canadians want domestic food self-sufficiency. This is why we are encouraging candidates from all political stripes to stand strong with our farmers and defend supply management as the essential pillar of Canada’s food system it is.

Canadians want to know that when they go to the grocery store, the eggs they buy are fresh, local and produced with care. They want policies that support the farmers who live in their communities and contribute to their economies. They want the made-in-Canada food they trust.

Supply management isn’t just a model for agriculture—it’s a model for the kind of Canada we want to live in. Canada’s egg farmers are looking to our leaders to show their strong support for this fundamental system that delivers stability and self-sufficiency to our food system.

Roger Pelissero is a third-generation egg farmer and Chair of Egg Farmers of Canada.

Recent instances of farms dumping carcasses in landfills and using methods to kill chickens that put workers in close proximity to the virus show how the process of getting rid of infected birds could further spread the disease, according to data obtained by Reuters and interviews with officials and disease experts.

Extreme heat that made it difficult to keep protective equipment on during the asphyxiation by carbon dioxide of chickens on a Colorado egg farm likely contributed to five bird flu cases among workers, the largest cluster of human cases in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said recently.

The situation highlights the need for systematic use of protective gear when killing the sick animals, said Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director.

Workers killing chickens risk inhaling the virus, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota. Those who were infected had mild symptoms including pink eye and respiratory issues.

“Depopulation activities need to clearly focus on protection for these individuals,” he said.

There have been no human or livestock cases linked directly to disposal of animals with avian flu.

Bird flu has migrated to nearly every U.S. state over the past 2.5 years. There have been nine cases among poultry and dairy workers since March, including the Colorado poultry workers.

Further bird flu spread among livestock could increase the likelihood of human infections, though the risk to the general public is still low, CDC officials.

About 95 million chickens, turkeys and other poultry have been killed and disposed of since February 2022, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data showing culling and disposal methods through late June.

Bird flu is fatal in birds, and the government requires entire flocks to be culled once the virus is on a farm. The deadliest year was 2022, but nearly as many chickens have been disposed of so far in 2024 as in all of 2023, the data shows.

The sick workers in Colorado, for instance, were killing the birds with mobile gas chamber carts, said Julie Gauthier, an official at the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The carts can typically accommodate between a dozen and 50 birds, and workers asphyxiate them batch by batch, Gauthier said. A USDA spokesperson said the agency had reviewed the farm’s use of the method as part of its response to the outbreak.

More than 150 of the workers were exposed to infected poultry, 69 displayed symptoms and were tested and five were positive, said AnneMarie Harper, communications director at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Most chickens are killed by asphyxiation either with portable chambers like those used in Colorado or by spraying a firefighting foam on the birds or shutting down ventilation to the chicken barns, the USDA data shows.

A small number are killed with firearms, by cervical dislocation or other means.

Most of the culled birds are composted, either in chicken houses or on farms, or buried, according to the USDA data. To compost the birds, farmers cover them in material such as wood shavings, maintain the compost piles at a high temperature and stir them occasionally with farm equipment in a process that typically takes several weeks.

Federal and state officials work with farmers to determine the best disposal methods, said John Clifford, a former USDA chief veterinarian and now an adviser for the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.

It is safest to compost on site to avoid moving the carcasses and potentially spreading the virus, said Myah Walker, compliance unit supervisor at the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

In rarer cases, carcasses are transported to landfills, a process that can meet some federal and state regulations.

Michigan egg producer Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch disposed of nearly two million chickens between April 15 and June 8 in private landfills, according to USDA data and Michigan state records of the disposal process obtained by Reuters.

Three per cent of all poultry have been disposed of in landfills since 2022, and the Herbruck’s outbreak accounts for about two-thirds of them, the USDA data shows.

Soon after the Herbruck’s disposal, a dairy farm near one of the landfills tested positive for bird flu, alarming area farmers. Even so, whole genome sequencing showed the disposed Herbruck’s carcasses did not cause the infection, said Adeline Hambley, Ottawa County’s health officer.

Wild birds have helped spread the virus between poultry farms and to other species.

Brian Hoefs, the state veterinarian for Minnesota, said he would not recommend disposing of dead poultry in landfills.

“That’s the restaurant for scavengers. It would be a recipe for disaster,” he said.

But the young hens seem to like being on display at the new egg research and display facility at the University of Manitoba, performing for schoolchildren, university students, researchers, and egg farmers and, on this day, a Western Producer reporter.

On the “enhanced housing” side, the hens crane their necks out from their large, communal cages, perhaps curious about the camera pointed at their red-combed heads. They wander along inside their realm, between perches and feeding areas and the safe space of the nesting area. There’s lots to keep a hen busy.

Down a short hallway and through a door, the hens gather in greater numbers and can get up close and personal with human visitors. On the “free run aviary” side of the facility, the hens gather, clucking and fluffing, while the bravest and most curious walk up to the masked and covered-head-to-toe reporter, perhaps suspecting he’s hiding feed somewhere within his coveralls. Most people the chickens see are on the other side of glass, except for the workers who come in to “teach” them certain behaviours, like where to lay their eggs.

Rows of bright white hens perch on bars provided for their amusement, rest and socialization. The elevated perches provide a position of safety as flightless humans wander beside them at beak level.

“We’re so excited to show it off,” Crystal Jorgenson, communications specialist with the agriculture department at the University of Manitoba, said a few days after the Glenlea research farm’s new egg research and display facility opened, and a few months after these two flocks of young hens were brought in to be the inaugural birds.

“It took them a while to get used to people, but now they seem to like visitors.”

Officially named the Manitoba Egg Farmers Learning and Research Centre at the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre, the facility attempts to combine three main things: research for academics, industry professionals and farmers; technical education for students and industry people; and awareness and outreach about egg production for the public.

It also produces many thousands of eggs that go into the commercial market after leaving behind the hens, barns and watchful researchers, students and members of the public.

“People just haven’t thought about where eggs come from,” said Claire McCaffrey, a communications specialist with Manitoba Egg Farmers, who toured the barns with the reporter. In the few days since the centre opened to schoolchildren and public, many questions have popped up about eggs and chickens, including whether each egg contains a chicken, which birds are the girls and which are the boys, and why chickens sometimes eat gravel and dirt.

Most people “think a chicken is a chicken,” said McCaffrey about explaining the basics of poultry production to people who might never before have seen a live hen.

For even the most informed and interested, seeing poultry production has become a rare experience. Biosafety protocols on commercial farms prevent visitors, including other producers. Many farmers haven’t seen another producer’s barn in years as they diligently avoid exposing each other’s flocks to diseases like avian influenza.

“We’ve never been able to have people out to an egg farm before,” said McCaffrey.

This facility provides visitors with close access to the hens and eggs through windows that reveal the inside of both styles of modern production: enhanced housing and free-run aviary. The smaller cages used in many older barns aren’t used here because they are being phased out of the industry by 2036 and aren’t being used in new barns.

Glenlea operations manager Jay Bourcier said opening the barn walls to a production system like the free-run aviary helps inform consumers what they’re paying for when they buy specially labelled egg containers.

“We can show them what they’re supporting,” said Bourcier.

Enhanced housing provides communal cages for the hens, with about 21 per unit here, in which they have a nesting area, perches, nail files on the feeders and other amenities not as available in traditional cages.

The two styles of production are both highly automated, with egg removal and manure removal relying on belt systems. Each side of the operation is as close to real farm production as possible, using the latest methods.

“This is the latest and the greatest in Canada right now,” said Bourcier. “To have value for the students coming through and going out into the industry, it has to mimic the Manitoba industry.”

The two systems allow for side-by-side comparisons of production results. There are also three rooms in which individual chickens can be studied. Chicken nutrition, bird behaviour, humane impacts and egg quality can all be studied in a scientifically valid way here.

“We can go all the way through to a human clinical trial,” said Jorgenson.

Researchers are already studying the birds, with plans for many studies that hadn’t previously been possible.

The hens are settling down, losing the skittishness common to pullets. They’re also getting crafty.

On this day when the door is opened to the free-run barn, three hens have made a jail break and are wandering around the walkway on the edge of the free-run area. They don’t seem to have any big plans for freedom. Most seem to be interested in getting back among the flock, but they found a flaw in their enclosure and went for a wander.

Working out the kinks in the new barn will take a while, but already the chickens seem settled, the researchers keen to get working, and the public filled with questions about where eggs come from.