CFA’s 1st Vice-President Todd Lewis Appointed to the Senate of Canada

OTTAWA, February 11 – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) proudly congratulates our 1st Vice-President, Mr. Todd Lewis, on his appointment to the Senate of Canada.

A dedicated advocate for Canadian farmers, Todd Lewis has been a steadfast leader within the Canadian agricultural sector for many years. His commitment to strengthening the voice of farmers and addressing key agricultural challenges has been evident throughout his tenure with CFA and other agricultural organizations.

Hailing from Saskatchewan, Todd Lewis is a lifelong farmer operating a multi-generational family farm near Gray, Saskatchewan, where he produces grain, canola, lentils, and other crops alongside his family. With deep roots in the farming community, Todd has been instrumental in driving policy discussions and advocating for farmers on issues such as the federal carbon tax, Business Risk Management programs, transportation, rural connectivity, and support for producers facing severe drought conditions. During his CFA tenure, he worked alongside Senator Mary Robinson (former CFA President) and Keith Currie (current CFA President) to guide the agricultural sector through COVID-19, transportation strikes, and strategic government negotiations on key policies. Representing CFA both across Canada and on the international stage, he earned the respect of colleagues and stakeholders through his poise, determination, and keen insight.

Todd’s leadership journey began with the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), where he served as a councilor before joining the Board of Directors in 2009. He was elected President of APAS in 2016, a role in which he played a pivotal role in amplifying the concerns of Saskatchewan farmers on both provincial and national stages. At CFA, Todd has been a long-serving board member and previously held the position of 2nd Vice-President before assuming his current role as 1st Vice-President and Chair of the CFA Transportation Committee.

Keith Currie, CFA President, expressed his admiration for Todd’s contributions, stating, “Todd has been a tireless champion for Canadian farmers, bringing their concerns to the forefront of policy discussions. His deep understanding of agricultural issues and dedication to the sector make him an invaluable addition to the Senate. I am proud to call Todd a good friend and Canada is in good hands with such a tremendous leader. We look forward to seeing him continue his advocacy at this new level.”

The CFA extends its heartfelt congratulations to Todd Lewis on this well-deserved appointment. We are confident that his wealth of experience, passion for agriculture, and steadfast commitment to rural communities will make a significant impact in the Senate of Canada.

Food Freedom Day is February 8, 2025

February 7th, Ottawa – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) has calculated that by Saturday, February 8th, 2025, a Canadian household of average income will have earned enough to pay for their entire year’s grocery bill.

Each year, CFA examines the proportion of income that Canadians spend on food to explore year-over-year expenditure changes and raise consumers’ understanding of Canada’s food system, from Farm-Gate-to-Plate.

Canadians spent 10.7% of their disposable income on food in 2024, which is lower than the 11.1% of disposable income spent on food in 2023. Due to this, Food Freedom Day falls one day before it did in 2023, which was February 9th.

With food prices having seen multiple years of significant inflation, it’s important to provide further context on the Food Freedom Day metric, as the average Canadian disposable income is not representative of every Canadian’s experience or the effects that rising food prices have on them. While Canada’s food system continues to provide access to affordable food by global standards, inflation and other global events have negatively impacted food affordability and security greatly over the past few years.

Adding onto this, recent threats of tariffs from the U.S. hold the potential to create a sharp increase in many food prices, further exacerbating the struggles with food prices that many Canadians are facing. This reality only serves to emphasize the importance of maintaining open and predictable trade across highly integrated North American agri-food supply chains.

Due to this, CFA continues to analyze Food Freedom Day with an eye to the differential impact food prices have on Canadian households based on household income levels to show the percentage of disposable income that they spent on food last year. The graph below presents this information.

Source: Distributions of household economic accounts, income, consumption and saving, by characteristic, quarterly

As can be seen in the graph above, there is a large difference between how much disposable income households in the lowest income quintile (26%) and the highest income quintile (5%) spent on food and beverages throughout the year.

CFA would like to note that while Canadians have seen food prices increase steadily throughout the past few years on the grocery shelves, farmers receive a small percentage of the price that consumers pay for food, and rising retail prices are not normally reflective of what is paid at the farm-gate.

“The Food Freedom Day metric shows that despite Canada being a trusted food supplier across the world, there is still a large group of Canadians that struggle with food affordability,” said Keith Currie CFA President.

“With the threat of tariffs hanging over our head from the U.S., these food affordability concerns only highlight the critical importance of a united Canadian approach to maintaining open and predictable North American trade. This is essential to avoid exacerbating food affordability concerns and ensuring a resilient agriculture and food industry.”

Tariffs Will Have Severe Negative Consequences for Farmers and Consumers in Canada and the U.S.

February 2nd, Ottawa – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), who represent over 190,000 family farms across Canada, is extremely disappointed to see the widespread 25% tariffs implemented by the U.S. today.

Canada and the U.S. share one of the most significant agricultural trading relationships in the world, raising serious concerns about the short and long-term ramifications these measures will have on producers and consumers on both sides of the border. The U.S. sells more goods to Canada than to any other country. Roughly 70% of Canadian goods exported to the U.S. are used in the production of other goods. These tariffs will disrupt highly integrated supply chains, resulting in price increases for consumers and negatively affecting the competitiveness of North American agriculture.

“These tariffs are going to have negative consequences for farmers and consumers on both sides of the border. There’s no question.” said Keith Currie, CFA President.

“Our agriculture sectors rely on each other, not just to sell products to one another but also to provide essential inputs to grow food such as fertilizer. No one wins in a trade dispute between Canada and the U.S. except for our competitors around the world. Tariffs are quite simply, bad business.”

“We stand in support with the Government of Canada’s immediate response but, right now, we need strong diplomatic leadership to bring a swift resolution to these damaging trade measures. That is in everyone’s best interests.” said Currie.

CFA is extremely concerned with the potential impacts of these tariffs on the Canadian agri-food sector and is actively working with the government on next steps to ensure that impacted farmers and farm businesses will have the support they need to weather this storm, particularly those impacted by the compounding effects of Canadian countervailing measures.

Viterra-Bunge Approval Raises Concerns for Canadian Farmers

January 15th, Ottawa – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) has concerns with the decision made by the Government of Canada to approve Bunge Ltd.’s US$8.2 billion acquisition of Viterra Ltd. While the decision to approve the merger does, in part, address some of the concerns raised by producers earlier in the process and includes a $520 million investment commitment from Bunge, the conditions set for the deal do not go far enough to truly ensure a competitive marketplace for Canadian farmers.

“We need to ensure that, at a minimum, the conditions set around this deal are being met,” said Keith Currie, President of the CFA. “Our concerns from the beginning were that this deal would not be in the best interests of farmers and the fact that Bunge has maintained its minority ownership stake in G3 certainly furthers those concerns. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, it is the farmers who will pay.”

Building on the Competition Bureau’s initial assessment of the merger’s potential negative consequences on competition in regions across Canada, research conducted by the University of Saskatchewan found that this deal, without a divestment of G3 would result in hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue for farmers every year.

Moving forward, CFA believes it’s critical that Government ensures all parties are financially accountable to commitments they put forward while going through the merger process. Further steps should also be taken to ensure subsequent merger reviews closely consider the impact of any further consolidation on Canadian producers in what are already highly concentrated upstream industries.

CFA Pleased to Present Report: Data as a Foundation for Sustainable Productivity Growth; Signs onto Ag Data Transparent Program as First Canadian Farm Industry Member

September 24, 2024, Ottawa – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is proud to present its recently published report, Data as a Foundation for Sustainable Productivity Growth.

The report emphasizes the critical need for a comprehensive policy and legislative framework to harness the benefits of advanced data analytics and precision farming. It highlights the essential role of both government and industry leaders in establishing clear parameters for data use, sharing and interoperability, alongside fostering public and private investments in connectivity infrastructure and equipment standards.

The report includes six key recommendations to harness data to help achieve agriculture’s immense potential as both an economic engine and a powerful tool in the fight against climate change.

Read the full report here.

On top of the release of this report, CFA is also proud to announce that it will be the first Canadian farm industry member of the Ag Data Transparent (ADT) organization. Members are committed to supporting ADT by upholding the Core Principles and advocating for data transparency within their organization and in the agricultural industry. Companies that want to be recognized as Ag Data Transparent must submit their contracts with farmers for certification by ADT which is a not-for-profit group guided by farmer voice.

This certification looks to verify compliance with the ADT Core Principles, improve farmers trust of data platforms, simplify contracts and educate farmers on issues surrounding privacy, security and the use of agriculture data.

CFA remains dedicated to ensuring that agriculture data is used in the best interest of Canadian farmers, supporting their financial, environmental and social sustainability while also driving efficiency and growth.

CFA Pleased to see end to Labour Disruption Impacting Rail Service Across Canada

August 23rd, 2024, Ottawa – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), who represent over 190,000 farm families across Canada, is pleased that the Minister of Labour has acted in the best interests of Canadians, including farmers, by invoking Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code and directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration.

While there will be residual impacts on farmers from the gradual shutdown of service in the lead up to the lockout and the complete shutdown on Thursday, there is no doubt that a prolonged nationwide disruption of rail service would have severely impacted Canadian farmers and the Canadian economy for weeks and months to come. Our hope is that rail service will be fully restored as soon as possible, and that the CPKC work stoppage is also resolved quickly to avoid the severe consequences that a prolonged disruption will cause.

The CFA was also encouraged by the Minister’s commitment to examine the conditions leading to repeated labour disruptions in the rail sector. The agriculture sector has faced several labour disruptions in the past few years, including eight work stoppages over the past six years alone. The CFA and Canadian farmers agree. This cannot continue if Canada is to maintain its long-held reputation as a reliable source of quality agri-food products.

“The reputation of Canada’s farmers and ranchers as a trusted food supplier, both domestically and internationally was at risk with this lockout,” said Keith Currie, CFA President. “The Minister’s decision to step in and force a resolution to the disruption was the right thing to do.”

Grocery Code of Conduct Promotes Fairness Through Canadian Food Supply Chain

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), who represent190,000 farm families across Canada, welcomes the announcement from the Federal, Provincial and Territorial (FPT) Ministers of Agriculture committing Ministers’ support for the Grocery Code of Conduct (GCOC) Adjudication Office, following agreement from all key stakeholders to participate in the industry-led code.

CFA has been working with key industry stakeholders from across the grocery supply chain to develop the GCOC since 2021. While work remains to implement the code, the short-term funding provided will provide the necessary time to develop the tools and processes needed to support the long-term success of the GCOC.

“CFA has been at the table encouraging the development of a code for years. We couldn’t be more pleased to see broad stakeholder buy-in and this initial support from FPT governments to get the code up and running. We look forward to seeing the positive impacts the code will have on supply chain dynamics and see all our hard work come to fruition,” said Keith Currie, CFA President.

CFA also appreciates the emphasis Ministers placed on working with producers to seize the opportunities presented by technology, data and innovation, having engaged Ministers on the role data plays in agriculture during the CFA’s FPT Roundtable on the eve of the FPT Ministerial.

“Data is at the heart of everything we do in agriculture. Following the discussion we had last week, it’s increasingly evident we need the support of governments to create the enabling conditions that will optimize data in support of productivity, food security, and the sustainability of our sector,” said Currie.

CFA looks forward to continuing its work with government and industry to ensure Canadian agriculture is better leveraging data to drive sustainable productivity growth.

CFA FPT Roundtable – Data as the Foundation for Sustainable Productivity Growth

July 18th, 2022 – OTTAWA – On July 16-17, CFA held its Summer Board Meeting in Whitehorse, Yukon. This meeting brought together farm leaders from across the country to discuss the priority issues in Canadian agriculture, and to prepare for the Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Agriculture Ministers Roundtable.

During the meeting, farm leaders from across Canada held discussions on a range of critical policy issues affecting Canadian agriculture, including:

  • Mental health and national farmer wellness,
  • Challenges and opportunities in growing agriculture in the Yukon,
  • The evolving role of the Senate and its role in addressing agricultural issues, and
  • Canada’s agri-food innovation ecosystem.

The board also discussed the growing disconnect between the level of investment available to support Canadian farmers given the sector’s contributions to the Canadian economy and global food security, as well as its potential as an environmental solutions provider. To remain competitive, drive continued innovation, and attract investment into the agriculture sector, governments must ambitiously invest in Canadian agriculture at a rate far exceeding what is currently made available.

The board also discussed CFA’s role on the international stage through leadership at the World Farmers’ Organization (WFO), ongoing engagement with the World Trade Organization (WTO), and a strong presence at United Nations climate negotiations. Discussion focused on the need for continued focus on maintaining both a resilient domestic agricultural sector and a dynamic export-focused sector. Board members agreed on the importance of collaboration and maintaining a united front on key trade-related issues facing the Canadian agriculture sector, such as the upcoming CUSMA review.

On July 17th, CFA hosted the Annual FPT Agriculture Ministers Roundtable, where Canada’s Agriculture Ministers met with farm leaders to discuss the pressing challenges confronting Canadian agriculture, and how data would serve as the foundation for future growth in the sector. Heading into the Roundtable, and to reinforce its commitment to data transparency, the CFA Board agreed to formally join Ag Data Transparent, as an industry member.

During this meeting, CFA highlighted how data and innovation are the key to unlocking further productivity in Canadian agriculture, through better economic outcomes, more responsive risk management, improved sustainability benchmarking and reporting as well as greater protection of animals and crops from diseases.

CFA made the following recommendations to Ministers to unlock the potential of data in agriculture:

  • Develop a Pan-Canadian Data Strategy that supports public and private investment in research, programming, digital skills and outcome-based measurement and reporting.
  • Expand investment in rural connectivity to ensure sufficient in-field network access to support the range of agtech opportunities emerging for farmers.
  • Establish programming to support the adoption of connectivity solutions and make a legislative commitment to support farm equipment interoperability.
  • Support capacity building for farm groups that are best positioned to protect farmers’ data, as well as investments in standards and new agricultural extension services to support ag tech adoption.

Following the Roundtable, the Ministers met on July 17th for the Annual FPT Minister’s Meeting. The Ministers will issue a statement following that meeting in the coming days.

“The FPT Roundtable is a unique opportunity for the agriculture sector to meet with the Ministers and come together to iron out our collective vision for the sector,” said Keith Currie, CFA President.

“Data is critical as farmers continue to explore opportunities to increase efficiencies and measure their sustainability. Creating the conditions to optimize access to and use of on-farm data is needed to harness the sector’s astounding potential as a driver of environmental solutions, economic development opportunities, and a significant contributor to food security in Canada and abroad. At CFA we truly believe that Canadian agriculture is uniquely positioned to feed Canadians and the world while delivering climate solutions. Investing in data and data-driven solutions is the critical lynch-pin to achieving that goal.”

Canadian Federation of Agriculture Stands by Salmon Farmers Over Government Decision to Ban Open Net Pens

CFA Raises Concerns on Food Security, Socio-Economic Impacts and the Future of Canadian Farming

June 20, Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), who represents 190,000 farm families across Canada has raised significant concerns over today’s decision by the Canadian federal government to ban open net pen salmon farms from BC coastal waters by 2029. The CFA believes this action will undermine the future of the critical Canadian agricultural industry and have ripple effects on food security and the economic prospects for farmers and communities across Canada’s West coast, as well as the rest of the country.

CFA finds this decision to be an alarming signal from the Canadian government to aquaculture and the agriculture sector.

The decision to remove open net pen salmon farms from BC coastal waters not only jeopardizes a critical food supply that provides 400 million meals of salmon each year, but it discourages any future investments in Canadian agriculture and farming, a strategic economic driver across the country. It also threatens the future of thousands of workers, approximately 500 of which are held by Indigenous people, will take away $1.2 billion in economic output, and hinder ongoing investments in improved environmental performance.

In addition to the loss of jobs and economic contributions in a period of challenging economic conditions for all Canadians, this sends a concerning signal for those looking to invest in Canadian agriculture, hurting not only the future prospects of Canada’s farmers but also the coastal communities and local First Nations who have established partnerships within the salmon farming sector.

Furthermore, the CFA is concerned that this decision undermines the federal government’s commitments to science-based decision-making and the support for rural coastal communities. Rather than present a responsible plan that advances incremental protections for wild salmon and supports the sector in their continuous adoption of innovative new protection measures, the plan put forward presents no viable pathway to maintain the sector’s food production and economic contributions.

“Salmon farming in BC is a key contributor to national food security, contributes significantly to the economy and provides a sustainable source of protein,” said Keith Currie, President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. “The limited license duration increases uncertainty, threatening the stability of the agricultural sector and the communities that depend on it.”
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture remains committed to collaborating with government, First Nations, and other stakeholders to secure a viable and prosperous future for the salmon farming and agricultural industries. The CFA urges the federal government to reconsider its approach and ensure decisions are grounded in robust scientific evidence, promoting long-term stability and growth for the sector.

“It is essential for the government to provide longer-term stability to enable the salmon farming sector to recover from recent declines and to continue contributing to Canada’s economic growth through innovation and sustainable practices,” added Currie.

CFA Frustrated as Capital Gains Legislation Undermines Family Farm Successions

June 11th, 2024, Ottawa – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), who represent over 190,000 farm families across Canada, is disappointed with the Government of Canada’s decision to ignore calls to delay implementation of changes to the recently announced capital gains inclusion rate. By announcing the proposed tax changes in the Federal Budget on April 16th with an effective implementation date of June 25th, the Government of Canada is not providing Canadian farm businesses with enough runway to fully assess the potential implications of these changes for farm succession tax planning purposes and adjust accordingly.

While the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption (LCGE) was increased to $1.25 million, the capital gains inclusion rate was also increased from one half to two thirds. CFA’s concern is that by increasing the capital gains inclusion rate we are neutralizing the increase to the LCGE threshold and jeopardizing the success of genuine intergenerational farm transfers and the financial health of the next generation of farms across Canada.

“By ramming these very significant tax changes through while farmers are in the field planting, we aren’t giving producers enough time to fully assess the implications for their families and their businesses,” said Keith Currie, CFA President.

With 40% of Canadian farm operators set to retire over the next decade, we need to ensure that the proposed personal income tax measures announced in Budget 2024 do not jeopardize the transfer of assets from one generation of farmer to another, but rather encourage the next generation of farmers to take up the calling, drive much needed rural economic activity and help the agriculture sector reach its growth potential.