On August 18th, CFA provided its submission to the 2026 Pre-Budget Consultation.
At a high level, the submission recommended the following:
Strengthen Canadian Farms and Food Security by:
- Maintaining and enhancing funding under the Next Policy Framework while integrating agriculture sector specific funding streams across broader federal programs and initiatives.
- Establishing a National Food Security Advisory Council to apply a business and competitiveness lens to advancing Canada’s food security objectives and related federal initiatives.
- Permanently increasing the interest-free portion of the Advance Payments Program to $350,000.
- Mandating Agricultural Impact Assessments for federal infrastructure and natural resource management initiatives.
Improve Tax Competitiveness for Canadian Farms by:
- Making the Accelerated Investment Incentive permanent, expand farm rollover provisions to support succession planning, and establish a federal Agri-Gift Program.
Improve Access to Labour by:
- Establishing a dedicated pathway to permanent residency to help address year-round labour needs in the agricultural sector.
Accelerate Agricultural Innovation and Productivity by:
- Increasing investment in plant and animal disease preparedness and response capacity.
- Investing in priority agricultural AI initiatives to accelerate on-farm innovation.