Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and André Lamontagne, Quebec Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, announce the signing of a bilateral agreement under the new Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP). This agreement includes a joint investment by the governments of Canada and Quebec estimated at $955 million in the Quebec agri-food sector over the next 5 years.
This is an additional $97M in funding compared with the previous strategic framework, a 25% increase in the envelope for cost-shared strategic initiatives.
The agreement also highlights Quebec’s leadership in improving agri-environmental practices by recognizing and providing specific funding for the Ministerial Initiative on Compensating Agri-environmental Practices. Quebec is thus equipped with additional tools in the pursuit of its sustainable agriculture objectives and continues to act to develop a prosperous and resilient bio-food sector.
The partnership will contribute to the achievement of targets, objectives and indicators established by Quebec as part of its plans and strategies for the bio-food sector. It also establishes parameters for the pan-Canadian Business Risk Management (BRM) programs of AgriInvest, AgriStability, AgriInsurance and AgriRecovery to make them more timely, equitable and simple. This includes increasing the compensation rate in the AgriStability Program from 70% to 80%.
Quotes
“Through the Canadian Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture, we are making a historic investment to support the growth and resiliency of Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector. Building on the leadership of our producers and processors in sustainability, we will continue to develop markets and support research and innovation so that our agricultural producers can make a good living from their work and contribute to food security here and abroad.”
– The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
“I am very proud of the work done by Quebec on this file. We are recognized as leaders in the transition to sustainable agriculture. The partnership agreement reached gives Quebec all the flexibility needed to implement programs that meet its needs and are consistent with the objectives of the Politique bioalimentaire du Québec. These significant investments will support the Quebec government’s climate and sustainable development commitments, notably through the continuation and enhancement of the Initiative ministérielle de rétribution des pratiques agroenvironnementales [Ministerial Initiative on Compensating Agri-environmental Practices]. We aim to improve the competitiveness, innovation and resilience of the agri-food sector. This partnership will promote the prosperity of the sector and Quebec’s food autonomy in a more sustainable manner.”
– André Lamontagne, Quebec Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Minister responsible for the Centre-du-Québec Region
Quebec farmers, like those in other provinces, had high expectations for the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Higher budgets are a step in the right direction and set the table so that agriculture can meet the challenges of the 21st century. Societal expectations for ecological transition and highly competitive markets require continued dialogue on additional support, but today’s announcement is certainly a good start.
– Martin Caron, General President of the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA)
CTAQ is pleased with this new and improved agreement that responds to the demands of Quebec food processors who have to meet increasingly high consumer demands and standards for more resilient and sustainable food systems. A high proportion of consumers believe that it is important for sustainability to be a strong value for Quebec companies, and we will continue to work towards this goal.
– Sylvie Cloutier, President and CEO of the Conseil de la transformation alimentaire du Québec (CTAQ)
Quick facts
- The Sustainable CAP is a total five-year investment (2023-2028) of $3.5 billion across federal, provincial and territorial governments. This includes $1 billion in federal initiatives and $2.5 billion in cost-shared initiatives. These are co-funded 60% by the federal government and 40% by provincial and territorial governments.
- For Quebec, the Sustainable CAP means an estimated total amount of $955 million:
- a budget envelope of $367 million for Quebec’s cost-shared strategic initiatives, including $220 million from the federal government and $147 million from the Quebec government
- an estimated $588 million, including $353 million from the federal government and $235 million from the Quebec government, based on the economic and climatic conditions seen in recent years in the Business Risk Management Programs: AgriStability, AgriInvest, AgriProtection and AgriRecovery. In addition to these pan-Canadian programs, there are also programs that are exclusive to Quebec: the Programme d’assurance stabilisation des revenus agricoles (ASRA), Agri-Québec and Agri-Québec Plus
- The projects and initiatives that will benefit from these new cost-shared funds, implemented by Quebec, will be announced at a later date.
- Business Risk Management (BRM) Programs will continue to help producers manage major risks that threaten farm viability and risks that are beyond their capacity.
- The signing of this new agreement includes two agreements: the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership: A Federal-Provincial-Territorial Framework Agreement on Agriculture, Agri-Food and Agri-Based Products Policy, and the Canada-Quebec Agreement on the implementation of the Sustainable CAP.
- The previous policy framework, the Canadian Agricultural Partnership: Federal-Provincial-Territorial Framework Agreement on Agriculture, Agri-Food and Agri-Based Products Policy is in effect from April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2023. A new version of the multilateral framework agreement for sustainable agriculture will come into effect on April 1, 2023, and will expire on March 31, 2028.
