Canada is betting that a stronger food system begins closer to home.
During a visit to Green Lake, Saskatchewan, Secretary of State for Rural Development Buckley Belanger highlighted the launch of the federal government’s new National Food Security Strategy, a more than $3 billion, 10-year plan designed to increase domestic food production, improve grocery competition, reduce regulatory barriers and strengthen Canada’s long-term food resilience.
The strategy reflects a broader effort to make food more affordable while reducing Canada’s dependence on foreign supply chains that have been disrupted in recent years by global conflicts, climate events and trade tensions. The National Food Security Strategy is intended to address those vulnerabilities by strengthening domestic food production and processing, expanding food infrastructure and improving Canada’s long-term food security, affordability and resilience.
The strategy is built around four priorities: increasing grocery competition, expanding Canadian food production, growing more fruits and vegetables year-round, and reducing regulatory delays throughout the agricultural supply chain.
A central pillar is a $1 billion investment in food infrastructure, including new food terminals and distribution hubs that will help independent grocers source competitively priced products outside the supply networks of Canada’s largest grocery chains. Additional funding will also strengthen the Competition Bureau and Competition Tribunal’s ability to investigate and address unfair business practices.
The plan also aims to expand Canada’s food-processing capacity. A new $1 billion Agri-food Project Finance Fund through Farm Credit Canada, a $150 million Food Security Fund, and a $100 million Collaborative Food Innovation Fund will support businesses that produce, process and add value to Canadian-grown food.
Highlighting the strategy’s broader economic impact, Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald said, “The National Food Security Strategy is about giving Canadians greater choice, control and access to affordable, locally produced food. Through this made-in-Canada approach, we will be able to process more of what our farmers grow, creating new jobs, economic opportunity and more food self-sufficiency. By reducing red tape and helping innovative businesses get projects off the ground faster, we will unlock new opportunities for farmers, food processors and entrepreneurs across the agri-food sector.”
Another $750 million will support greenhouse projects, vertical farms and other enclosed growing facilities to expand year-round fruit and vegetable production, particularly in rural and northern communities where fresh produce can be expensive and difficult to access.
The strategy also targets regulatory reform by modernizing approvals for seeds, feed, fertilizers and veterinary products while reducing administrative barriers that slow agricultural production and make it harder for provincially licensed food businesses to sell products across Canada.
The Honourable Buckley Belanger, Secretary of State for Rural Development, emphasized the importance of rural communities in achieving those goals:
“Saskatchewan feeds Canada and the world. Strong rural, remote and northern communities are key to our country’s food security and food sovereignty. This landmark strategy will help ensure that more of the food Canadians rely on is grown, processed and distributed right here at home, creating new opportunities for rural communities while giving Canadians more food choices and a stronger, more resilient food system, year-round. Thank you to Green Lake and to all Saskatchewan communities that are working hard to improve food security in communities across the province.”
The announcement also marked the opening of applications for the Community Support Stream under the Local Food Infrastructure Fund. The new $20 million stream will support organizations that distribute nutritious food to vulnerable Canadians. Green Lake has previously received federal funding through the program to strengthen food security in northern Saskatchewan.
Local leaders welcomed the continued investment.
“I welcome the opportunity for Green Lake to be a food hub community. It has been a tradition to grow our own food and to forage meat and fish; this has been lost to the current generation. Today, we’re glad to be able to re-establish this tradition,” said Mayor Jim Laliberte.
Green Lake Alderman Darwin Lafond added, “I would like to thank Agriculture Canada for the grant funding to initiate a greenhouse project that will support food security for the community.”
By combining infrastructure investments, financing for food businesses, expanded greenhouse production and regulatory reform, Ottawa is positioning the National Food Security Strategy as a long-term effort to build a more competitive, resilient and self-sufficient Canadian food system.
