Ottawa, Ontario – The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Neil Ellis, launched the federal consultation process for the Next Agricultural Policy Framework. They shared Canada’s vision for a sustainable future for the agriculture and agri-food sector in a virtual event with stakeholders.
The Framework is a wide-ranging federal-provincial-territorial agreement that will replace the current five-year, $3 billion Canadian Agricultural Partnership, which expires on March 31, 2023.
The Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector is a powerhouse of the Canadian economy, spurring job creation and prosperity across the country. The agriculture and agri-food system generates over $139 billion of our gross domestic product and, when combined with seafood, nearly $74 billion of our exports, while employing more Canadians than any other manufacturing industry in the country.
The current Canadian Agricultural Partnership provides key financial support for agriculture programs and services that are tailored to meet regional needs. This includes a number of federal programs, as well as programs that are cost-shared between the federal and provincial/territorial governments on a 60:40 basis.
The consultations launched today will help shape the direction of the Next Agricultural Policy Framework by gathering the experience and ideas from stakeholders. The Government of Canada is committed to collaborating with its provincial and territorial partners, Canadians, and all stakeholders – including agricultural producers and processors, women in agriculture, youth, Indigenous communities, environmental organizations, and small and emerging sub-sectors – to seek feedback and help develop the next Framework.
Consultations begin this month and will continue through the spring of 2022. For updates on the consultations, summaries of the feedback received, and opportunities to contribute to the discussion, please visit the Next Agricultural Policy Framework throughout 2021 and 2022.
Source : Government of Canada