Labour shortages cost Canadian agriculture sector $3.5 billion in 2022: research

Nov 03, 2023

OTTAWA - The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council says labour shortages cost the agriculture sector $3.5 billion in sales in 2022.

Research by the Conference Board of Canada on behalf of the council found the sector has a vacancy rate of 7.4 per cent.

The council says the agriculture sector employed more than 420,000 workers in 2022, and almost a quarter of them were foreign workers.

Jennifer Wright, executive director of the council, says there's an urgent need to boost the labour supply in Canadian agriculture.

She says this new data on Canada's agriculture labour market is important so that the industry can tackle these challenges.

The council says the data is part of a longer term initiative to update its labour forecasting system and support its national workforce strategic plan.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2023.

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Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?