Carney unveils new $3.2B strategy to improve access to affordable food

Carney holds word group discussion in Toronto

ground government minister Mark Carney unveiled a new food security strategy that commits to spend $3.2 billion over a decade to produce more food in Canada and make it more affordable on Thursday.

While grocery rebates now hitting low- and middle-income bank accounts offer some short-term relief, this new strategy attempts to fix some of the root causes behind the spike in food prices.

Carney announced the new measures at the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto — which distributes nearly two billion pounds of fruits and vegetables annually across Canada.

The strategy commits to investing $1 billion over a decade into food infrastructure. The money will go into the new Food Link Fund to support wholesale marketplaces, known as food terminals and food hubs.

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These terminals allow independent grocers to buy food at competitive prices. They also sell fresh produce directly to hospitals, restaurants and consumers.

The strategy sets targets — like expanding the Ontario Food Terminal by the end of the year and opening two new food terminals and establishing or expanding 10 smaller food hubs by the end of 2028.

A senior official in a briefing with reporters said the strategy does not set a target price for a basket of goods nor define what affordable food actually is.

Canada depends on food imports — with 88 per cent of fresh fruits and nuts and 72 per cent of vegetables coming from abroad. Although Canada is the ninth-largest exporter of agri-food products, it is also the 11th-largest importer.

Half of Canada's food imports come from the United States. 

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"A country that can't feed itself, fuel itself or defend itself has few options," Carney said in his speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland — a few days before announcing this strategy was forthcoming.

That announcement in January set aside $20 million for a local food infrastructure fund to help food banks and other organizations connect households in need with nutritious food.

Since then, officials have been scrambling to get a strategy in place to make sure a country as rich in agricultural land as Canada never experiences security threats in the form of food shortages.

But at the individual household level, food insecurity is more likely caused by the inability to afford the higher grocery prices that have persisted since the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to a range of factors this strategy aims to address.

One of them is a lack of competition. The strategy notes that five big supermarket chains — Loblaw, Metro, Empire (Sobeys), Walmart and Costco — dominate 75 per cent of the market. Independent grocers, convenience stores and regional chains, like Pattison Food Group in Western Canada, account for the rest.  

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Justin Trudeau's government attempted to disrupt the monopoly behaviour of Canada's giant grocery retailers, but was unsuccessful at attracting new competition.

This strategy boosts funding for the federal Competition Bureau and the Competition Tribunal, in an attempt to more closely monitor and enforce competition in food retailing and across its supply chains. Altogether funding for these bodies will rise by $12.9 million annually.

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Small- and medium-size food processors can now also receive support to modernize and increase food productivity through a fund under the Crown corporation Farm Credit Canada, considered the nation's largest agricultural lender. 

The strategy also sets aside $700 million over seven years so greenhouses and other indoor food production can adopt new technology and reduce energy and operating costs. From that funding envelope, rural and northern communities will receive $100 million.

"This funding will improve access to fruit and vegetables year round … and reduce price swings caused by global disruptions," one federal official told reporters. 

The strategy also seeks to address the need for new climate change mitigation strategies to ensure Canadian agriculture remains resilient.

Senior reporter

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