Canada’s trade and transportation strategy should place agriculture and agri-food supply chains at the center of planning and investment decisions. Key recommendations include:
- Strengthen trade corridor planning and governance through better federal-provincial-territorial coordination, corridor-level planning, and performance measurement.
- Invest in critical transportation infrastructure, including rail, ports, border crossings, rural roads, inland logistics facilities, processing infrastructure, and cold-chain systems. The CFA highlights the Second Narrows Rail Bridge in Vancouver as a priority example.
- Reduce administrative burden by streamlining infrastructure funding applications, harmonizing eligibility criteria, and improving coordination across government programs.
- Improve collaboration across supply chains through greater participation of agriculture stakeholders, enhanced data sharing, and stronger performance monitoring.
- Address transportation labour disruptions with a whole-of-government approach to minimize impacts on agricultural exports and critical farm inputs.
- Support Indigenous economic participation by fostering voluntary partnerships in agriculture, logistics, infrastructure, food production, and regional development.
- Protect agricultural land and resources by requiring Agricultural Impact Assessments (AIAs) for major trade and transportation infrastructure projects to assess impacts on farmland, water resources, and long-term food production.
- Create dedicated agriculture-focused infrastructure funding streams and ensure agriculture has representation in trade corridor governance structures.