Tariffs and trade are front and centre these days from dominating news headlines and influencing election discussions to figuring prominently in government, business, organizational and even personal decisions nation-wide.

Our agriculture, food and agribusiness sector, a key pillar of the provincial economy, is no different. Canada-wide, we export a large part of our agricultural production around the world and overall, approximately 60 percent of those exports go to the United States. For some individual sectors of agriculture, like greenhouse and field vegetables or flowers, those U.S. export figures are even higher.

Earlier this month, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and 22 other commodity and agricultural organizations and businesses jointly wrote to Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness Trevor Jones, and federal minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Kody Blois about the threats the current trade and tariff uncertainty pose to our sector and how government can help.

These include developing targeted support programs for farmers, investing in agriculture’s productive capacity, supporting buy local initiatives, expanding export markets and supporting homegrown solutions.

A particularly hot topic for farmers and non-farmers alike – and government – is removing or reducing interprovincial trade barriers. We know that we have market opportunities for our agri-food products right here in Canada, but they’re not accessible due to interprovincial trade barriers of many kinds.

We are asking for Ontario agriculture to be at the table with governments at all levels to take a serious look at regulatory barriers to competitiveness between provinces and where appropriate, address and remove them to expand our market opportunities within Canada.

This includes decreasing regulatory red tape and logistical challenges around transportation and moving products across the country and eliminating restrictions that impact some of our sectors in particular, like livestock production and meat processing.

For the OFA, interprovincial trade barriers were the subject of a recent full-day meeting with our Policy Advisory Council.

This council brings together representatives from all our regional and county federations of agriculture to discuss important issues and provide feedback that helps the OFA’s provincial board shape its policies and positions.

The policy advisory council discussions did identify three main barriers that are common across most segments of the agriculture industry:

Trucking and transport regulations: differences in provincial trucking regulations impose significant costs when transporting agricultural goods and farming supplies across provincial borders. These differences between provinces include things like driver logbook requirements, licencing, safety inspections, height restrictions, and maximum load weights.

Sale of provincially inspected meat: Federal interprovincial trade legislation under the Safe Food for Canadians Act restricts the sale of meat from provincially inspected processing facilities outside of the province. Only meat from federally regulated facilities inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency can be legally sold in other provinces.

Mobility of skilled workers and licensed professionals: current laws mean that provincially accredited professionals like veterinarians, for example, or skilled workers like drainage contractors cannot work outside of the province where they are licensed.

As with so many issues in a sector as diverse as agriculture, this one is as complex and there are no easy or immediate solutions.

What is important, however, is that agriculture is at the table with all levels of government when these discussions and consultations are taking place so we can bring the concerns and opportunities of our sector to the attention of decision-makers.

With Ontario’s combined agriculture sector exporting billions of dollars in goods annually – $26.2 billion in 2023 alone – punishing tariffs and trade barriers disrupt supply chains, reduce market access, and put immense financial strain on farm families and agri-businesses.

Ontario’s farmers and agri-businesses are the backbone of the provincial economy, driving economic growth, supporting job creation, and ensuring our national food security.

We believe in the Team Canada approach to help preserve and support our farmers and farm businesses during this challenging time and ensure the long-term stability of the agriculture industry, our food system and the broader economy.

For more information, contact:

Tyler Brooks
Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-994-2578
comms@ofa.on.ca