Livestock producers in parts of southern Alberta, British Columbia and more northern regions of Canada are included on the federal government’s initial list of areas designated for the 2026 Livestock Tax Deferral Provision.
Released by Ottawa on Tuesday, the list of designated areas is intended to help producers who are forced to sell part of their breeding herd because of drought, flooding or excess moisture. Eligible producers in designated regions may defer a portion of income from breeding livestock sales to the following tax year, helping ease the financial impact of weather-related herd reductions.
In Alberta, all of the areas on the initial list are in the southern part of the province. The prescribed census subdivisions include Cardston County, Forty Mile County No. 8, Lethbridge County, Pincher Creek No. 9, Taber, Warner County No. 5 and Willow Creek No. 26.
The federal map also identifies prescribed or extended prescribed regions in British Columbia, largely in the province’s Interior and southern areas. Additional large designated regions are located farther north, including parts of the Northwest Territories and extensive areas of northern Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Under the Livestock Tax Deferral Provision, producers in prescribed regions who reduce their breeding herds by at least 15% may be able to defer part of the proceeds from those sales. Agriculture Canada can add further regions later as seasonal conditions develop and additional areas meet the program’s criteria.
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