Thanks to $166 million in funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the new two-year Wine Sector Support Program will help Canadian wineries face emerging challenges in the short term. The program is now accepting applications between July 4, 2022 and August 12, 2022.

All licensed wineries in Canada that produce or contract out the production of bulk wine from primary agricultural products, such as grapes, berries, other fruit, dandelions, rice and sap, will be eligible for support under the program. Support will be provided in the form of a grant based on the production of bulk wine fermented in Canada from domestic and/or imported primary agricultural products in the previous year. Individual payments will depend on the total litres of eligible wine submitted to the program and individual applicants’ total eligible wine production.

 “Wine Growers Canada applauds this historic investment and thanks Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and the federal government for their commitment to the Canadian wine industry,” said Dan Paszkowski, president and CEO of Wine Growers Canada. “This federal support is a critical step forward in helping restore certainty and confidence throughout the sector, and will enable wineries to reinvest in their businesses and employees. A healthy and vibrant wine and grape sector will deliver billions of dollars in economic benefits to local and rural communities in the form of jobs, tax revenue, support for the hospitality sector and the entire wine and grape value chain.” 

For details of the program, link here: https://agriculture.canada.ca./en/agricultural-programs-and-services/wine-sector-support-program

Source:  Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada June 29, 2022 news release