The Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Neil Ellis, have launched a federal consultation process for the Next Agricultural Policy Framework.

The Framework is a wide-ranging federal-provincial-territorial agreement that will replace the current five-year, $3 billion Canadian Agricultural Partnership, which expires on March 31, 2023.

“Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, Canadian agricultural producers benefit from a wide range of development and risk management programs that are largely funded by the federal government. As Ottawa, the provinces and the territories negotiate the terms of the 2023-2028 policy framework, I encourage all representatives of the agriculture and agri-food sector to participate in the consultations,” said Bibeau.

The current Canadian Agricultural Partnership provides financial support for agriculture programs and services that are tailored to meet regional needs. This includes a number of federal programs, as well as programs that are cost-shared between the federal and provincial/territorial governments on a 60:40 basis.

Consultations begin this month and will continue through the spring of 2022. A number of provinces and territories are also beginning their own engagement sessions with regional stakeholders on the Next Agricultural Policy Framework.

Federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of Agriculture will meet in September 2021 to reflect on their respective consultations and establish priorities in developing the Next Agricultural Policy Framework.