Open Letter: Let’s Grow Canada: Staking a Claim for Agriculture in the Government Mandate

Open Letter: Let’s Grow Canada: Staking a Claim for Agriculture in the Government Mandate

Dear Prime Minister Carney,

As leaders in Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector, we welcome your government’s focus on strengthening the economy—including efforts to tackle productivity challenges, ease regulatory pressures, eliminate internal trade barriers, expand market access, and move forward with critically needed nation-building projects. We are excited by the potential opportunities this creates to advance Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector and help it improve its position and impact in global and domestic markets.

However, this enthusiasm is tempered by ongoing concern that agriculture has too often been overlooked in national policy and investment decisions. Canada’s agricultural R&D spending fell from $0.86 billion in 2013 to $0.68 billion in 2022—ranking us last among the top seven OECD countries. Without a clear shift in approach, Canada risks falling permanently behind in a sector critical to domestic and export growth, food security, and economic resilience.

As a vital industry with strong roots in both rural and urban communities, we contribute almost $150 billion annually to Canada’s GDP and employ 2.3 million people—more than the automotive, forestry, steel and aluminum, and oil and gas sectors combined. We are the largest manufacturing sector in the country and a key driver of domestic economic growth.