The Canadian and Ontario governments have negotiated a Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) that will see upwards of $1.77 billion in support for Ontario’s agri-food sector over the life of the agreement. Through Sustainable CAP, $569 million will be invested in strategic initiatives, which is a 25 per cent increase over the previous funding agreement. There will also be roughly $1.2 billion for continued, demand-driven, business risk management supports for farmers.

“The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association is pleased with the renewed commitment by the federal and provincial governments to support our domestic food production over the next five years,” says Shawn Brenn, OFVGA chair. “The announcement is a step in the right direction for strengthening our national safety nets programming such as AgriStability. We look forward to working with both governments to ensure funding invested in strategic initiatives is designed effectively to meet the specific needs of Ontario’s fruit and vegetable growers.”

Sustainable CAP will also boost investments in research and innovation and other strategic areas. The agreement will include the launch of the new Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP), a funding initiative to mitigate climate change and support the agricultural sector in better addressing sustainability.

The Sustainable CAP starts on April 1, 2023 and replaces the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The programs will support the vision and priorities the federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers agreed to in 2021 in The Guelph Statement.

The Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) is a five-year (2023-2028), $3.5-billion investment by federal‐provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation, and resiliency of the agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and $2.5 billion in cost-shared programs and activities by federal, provincial and territorial governments.

Source:  Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs March 1, 2023 news release