Fall Harvest 2025: Canadian fresh produce industry engages with federal government on key issues affecting the supply chain

The Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC) and the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) held their annual joint-advocacy event, Fall Harvest 2025, this week in Ottawa.  The event, held every November, brings together produce industry leaders, Parliamentarians and government officials to discuss critical issues impacting the produce supply chain and Canadians’ access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

This year’s edition kicked off on Monday, November 24, with a panel moderated by David Coletto of Abacus Data, featuring Members of Parliament Dave Epp, Yves Perron, Gord Johns, and Kody Blois (CPMA 2023 Produce Champion), who discussed fresh produce policy priorities on Parliament Hill. Following the panel, David Coletto provided an overview of Canada’s current political landscape, and Steve Verheul, Principal, GT & Company Executive Advisors, and Canada’s former chief negotiator of the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), addressed industry members on Canada in the evolving trade environment.

Fall Harvest 2025 included meetings with Parliamentarians and government officials focused on addressing three challenges impacting the produce supply chain:

• Trade and investment to fuel the Canadian produce supply chain: As part of a highly integrated North American produce supply chain, the Canadian fruit and vegetable sector is impacted by the ongoing volatility caused by tariff threats. Industry representatives emphasized the importance of making agriculture and food production a national priority by advocating for a North American free trade agreement, accelerating market diversification, and making strategic investments in trade, transportation, and food-system infrastructure.
• Building a workforce that works from farm to plate: The produce industry relies on workers who come to Canada through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). CPMA and FVGC representatives called on the Government to ease the administrative burden of these programs by preserving the SAWP as a distinct labour stream and streamlining government processes for compliant TFWP employers.