With renewed tariff threats from the United States making headlines again, Canadians are getting another reminder that our economy doesn’t operate in a vacuum. That’s especially true for a sector as export-dependent as agriculture, where the decisions made in Washington, Ottawa and provincial capitals can have just as much impact on a farm business as the weather.
That’s why the recent federal-provincial-territorial agriculture ministers’ meetings in Nova Scotia, along with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) summer meeting, were important. They brought together farm leaders, government ministers and officials from across the country to discuss the issues that will shape Canadian agriculture for years to come.
I attended the event as a farmer and Executive Member of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. My biggest takeaway wasn’t any single announcement; rather it was the sense that agriculture is finally moving higher on government priority lists. The recent federal government announcement of the development of a national food security strategy is one of the signs of that shift.
As farmers, we’ve long known how important our sector is to the rest of the national economy. To put it simply, everyone has to eat and we’re in the business of producing food – along with fuel, fibre and flowers – but we don’t usually command the attention that other sectors like automotive, mining or energy do.
The connection seems obvious: there is no national security without food security. A country that can’t reliably produce its own food is vulnerable to global conflicts, trade disputes, supply chain disruptions and extreme weather. Canada has the land, the resources and the expertise to feed its own population and customers around the world, but that capacity can’t be taken for granted.
It was also encouraging to see the growing influence of senators with agricultural backgrounds. Their practical understanding of farming is helping keep agriculture front and centre in national policy discussions, whether the topic is food production, soil health or the long-term competitiveness of Canadian agriculture.
Of course, greater recognition doesn’t eliminate the challenges we face.
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