Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Keith Currie addresses delegates at the organizations' AGM last week.

Uncertainties overshadow national farm meeting

Tariffs and other political unknowns were on the agenda as Canadian Federation of Agriculture delegates met last week

The president of Canada’s largest farm organization says people are anxious about looming tariffs and other uncertainties.

Letters to the editor – November 14, 2024

Pandemic bill poses food security threat Bill C-293, the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act, passed third reading in the House of Commons on June 5. The Senate has passed first reading of the bill and second reading is in now in debate. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture addressed the controversy of the legislation in response […] Read more

Bill C-282, which would protect supply managed sectors such as dairy in future trade talks, has become a political hot potato in Parliament.  |  File photo

Senate won’t fast-track supply management bill

Bloc Quebecois makes bill’s immediate passage a condition of preventing an early election, but senators will not budge

REGINA — The Senate committee on foreign affairs and international trade appears to be staying the course on Bill C-282, despite pressure to move it along quicker. International trade minister Mary Ng and others wrote to the committee earlier this month, twice asking it to expedite the bill that would protect supply managed sectors in […] Read more


Federal ministers and bureaucrats seem to understand that agriculture and agri-food needs a consistent supply of foreign workers. | File photo

‘Less panic’ over new immigration policy

Farm, agrifood groups say government understands the importance of temporary foreign workers to agriculture

WINNIPEG — The federal government’s new policy on immigration will not have huge consequences for agri-food processors or farmers, say spokespeople for the Canadian Meat Council and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Last week, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced a plan to cut the number of temporary residents in Canada to curb population growth from […] Read more

Livestock groups had asked that phrases in Bill C-293 such as “regulate commercial activities that can contribute to pandemic risk, including industrial animal agriculture” and “phase out commercial activities that disproportionately contribute to pandemic risk, including activities that involve high-risk species” be changed, but the wording remained in the bill that the House of Commons passed in June.  |  File photo

Pandemic response bill worries livestock groups

Industry says Bill C-293 contains ill-defined terms and heavy-handed language that unfairly targets animal agriculture

Glacier FarmMedia – A federal bill that purports to protect Canada from the next pandemic is drawing fire from the agriculture sector. In a recent editorial titled “Is Bill C-293 Canada’s ‘Vegan Act?’” Sylvain Charlebois, director of Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, said the bill “represents an unprecedented governmental intrusion into personal dietary choices and […] Read more


“Patchwork approaches and fragmented incentives won’t deliver the economic growth and support that Canada’s grain farmers and rural communities need,” Grain Growers of Canada said in a news release. | File photo

Program changes not seen as remedy for capital gains loss

Federal government revamps Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive, but Grain Growers of Canada say the move isn’t enough

Glacier FarmMedia – Grain Growers of Canada says proposed changes to the Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive will help some grain farmers but won’t offset losses due to changes to the capital gains inclusion rate. “Patchwork approaches and fragmented incentives won’t deliver the economic growth and support that Canada’s grain farmers and rural communities need,” the organization […] Read more

"Patchwork approaches and fragmented incentives won't deliver the economic growth and support that Canada's grain farmers and rural communities need," the organization said in a news release today. | File photo

Changes to Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive won’t offset capital gains losses says Grain Growers

Glacier FarmMedia – Grain Growers of Canada says proposed changes to the Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive will help some grain farmers but won’t offset losses due to changes to the capital gains inclusion rate. “Patchwork approaches and fragmented incentives won’t deliver the economic growth and support that Canada’s grain farmers and rural communities need,” the organization […] Read more

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture argues that producers cannot be expected to foot the entire bill that will be required to meet the federal Sustainable Agriculture Strategy.  |  File photo

National farm group asks for increased environmental funding

WHITEHORSE — The Canadian Federation of Agriculture says agri-environmental requirements under the forthcoming Sustainable Agriculture Strategy could cost billions. It wants adequate federal funding to make sure that burden doesn’t all fall on farmers. It also suggested an agriculture disaster relief summit among governments and producers to better plan for extreme weather events before the […] Read more


“The agriculture sector is in the midst of a transition characterized less and less by diesel and more and more by data,” said CFA first vice-president and Saskatchewan grain farmer Todd Lewis.
 | Getty Images

Farmers want data strategy

WHITEHORSE — Data will drive productivity growth on Canadian farms, farm organizations told agriculture ministers last month. They called for a national data strategy during a roundtable at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture summer meeting and ahead of the federal-provincial-territorial annual ministerial meeting. “The agriculture sector is in the midst of a transition characterized less […] Read more

Peas bloom on this farm northeast of Whitehorse.  |  Karen Briere photo

Yukon farming expands despite challenges

Small farms provide local food to residents of the territory through grocery stores, farmers markets and the farmgate

WHITEHORSE — Farming in the Yukon is filled with obstacles and opportunities, says territorial agriculture minister John Streicker. People are increasingly giving it a try, clearing land to plant vegetables or establish livestock operations. He told the Canadian Federation of Agriculture summer board meeting that farm capital has risen by 30 per cent in the […] Read more