That’s despite the effects of avian influenza on the country’s flock.

WHY IT MATTERS: Canadian egg producers have capitalized on demand for economical protein.

Egg production expanded by 7.6 per cent last year to 937 million dozen, with per capita egg consumption on the rise, Egg Farmers of Canada reported. During 2025, 1.5 million hens were temporarily added to the system to meet demand.

That included annual egg sales rising 5.8 per cent, with foodservice demand up 2.6 per cent. Also, the number of households consuming six or fewer eggs per week was down four per cent, which Egg Farmers of Canada attributed in part to its new ‘Eggs Everywhere’ campaign.

Demand for economical protein was also a boon to egg demand, FCC reported in February.

To combat salmonella enteritidis, all hens in Canada will now have to be vaccinated against that infection.

The phasing out of conventional housing systems continued with 39.5 per cent of the national flock still in such systems, down from 42 per cent in 2024 and 52.9 per cent in 2021.

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McDonald’s advertising for its Egg BLT McMuffin sandwich sold this summer will display the EQA (Egg Quality Assurance) trademark.

“The EQA program is the culmination of decades of work building world-class standards in the Canadian egg industry,” Egg Farmers of Canada chair Roger Pelissero said in a release.

The McDonald’s advertisements will be the first time that most Canadians see the new EQA certification mark, with it appearing on television, print and digital channels from now until the beginning of September.

All EQA-certified eggs have met the requirements of Egg Farmers of Canada’s national Start Clean-Stay Clean and Animal Care Programs.

The food safety pillar includes everything from on-farm inspections to mandated standards for storage, cleanliness, air quality, feed and record-keeping. Under its animal care program, field inspectors conduct on-farm visits to ensure hens are in a “comfortable environment, with a well-balanced and nutritious diet, fresh water and clean surroundings.”

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McDonald’s advertising for its Egg BLT McMuffin sandwich sold this summer will display the EQA (Egg Quality Assurance) trademark.

“The EQA program is the culmination of decades of work building world-class standards in the Canadian egg industry. Those standards are upheld through our national programs that include inspections and third-party audits,” said Roger Pelissero, third-generation egg farmer and Chair of Egg Farmers of Canada in a release. “We are pleased that McDonald’s Canada is displaying our EQA mark on their McMuffin sandwiches, showcasing their pride in Canadian eggs and the farmers that produce them.”

The McDonald’s advertisements will be the first time that most Canadians see the new EQA certification mark, with it appearing on television, print and digital channels from today until the beginning of September.

“We are committed to industry leading certification, and working with other leaders is at the core of our sourcing strategy,” said Rob Dick, supply chain officer, McDonald’s Canada. “Our goal is to benefit Canadian consumers and food producers, and working with the Egg Farmers of Canada accomplishes exactly that.”

All EQA-certified eggs have met the requirements of Egg Farmers of Canada’s national Start Clean-Stay Clean and Animal Care Programs.

The food safety pillar includes everything from on-farm inspections, to mandated standards for storage, cleanliness, air quality, feed and record keeping. Under its animal care program, field inspectors conduct on-farm visits to ensure hens are in a
“comfortable environment, a well-balanced and nutritious diet, fresh water and clean surroundings.”

Egg Farmers of Canada officials say the EQA certification mark provides a visual way to recognize eggs produced under those standards.

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The plan — announced Friday by Egg Farmers of Canada, an industry group that manages nearly all of the country’s egg supply — comes as various fast-food and quick-service restaurant chains set targets for only buying eggs that come from cage-free hens.

“This isn’t something we’ve done because of companies making announcements,” said Roger Pelissero, a farmer at West Lincoln, Ont., southeast of Hamilton, and first vice-chair for the national group. “We always have in our mind what is best for our hens.”

The organization, which represents over 1,000 egg farms across the country, mapped out a plan that immediately commits egg farmers not to install any new conventional cage housing.

About 90 per cent of egg production in Canada is now in conventional housing, commonly known as battery cages, which are slightly larger than filing cabinet drawers and hold several birds each. About 10 per cent is in enriched housing, free-run, aviary or free-range formats.

The plan, to be overseen by a national working group in collaboration with the entire egg supply chain, calls for a shift to about a 50-50 mix in eight years, moving to about 85 per cent alternative over conventional in 15 years.

“All production would be in enriched housing, free-run, aviary or free-range by 2036, assuming the current market conditions prevail,” the organization said in a release, adding those projections “represent a realistic forecast of what is achievable.”

Manitoba Egg Farmers, for one, already announced in late 2013 it would ban the installation of new conventional cages beyond 2014.

Egg Farmers of Canada said it also hopes to discuss, with stakeholders and consumers, the benefits of the enriched-housing model, “which do not seem to be well or widely understood outside of the industry.”

Enriched housing provides birds with more space per bird than conventional battery cages, along with perches, scratching surfaces and private nesting boxes.

While not free-run or free-range, the enriched model is meant to maintain food safety, reduce mortalities, limit cannibalism and other aggressive behaviours and ensure adequate feed and water for all birds.

“This announcement is a huge shift and we’re confident the market will make it happen before 2036,” said Sayara Thurston, a campaigner with Humane Society International, adding that U.S. farmers have not made a similar pledge.

Egg Farmers of Canada’s announcement follows a pledge Monday from Restaurant Brands International (RBI), operator of the Tim Hortons and Burger King chains, that it would move to 100 per cent cage-free eggs for its Canadian, U.S. and Mexican stores by 2025.

Ontario-based Cara Operations, whose chains in Canada include Swiss Chalet, Harvey’s, Milestones, Montana’s, Kelsey’s, East Side Mario’s, New York Fries and others, announced Thursday some of its brands will shift toward cage-free egg supplies starting this year, with all brands transitioning by 2020.

Mercy for Animals, an animal welfare group known for its releases of undercover video from meat packing plants and barns, had specifically called out Swiss Chalet and Harvey’s in its announcement Monday hailing RBI’s move.

Chains such as Subway, McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Starbucks have made similar commitments in recent months, giving various time frames.

Mercy for Animals president Nathan Runkle, in a separate statement Friday, described the Egg Farmers timeline as “simply outrageous… If egg producers truly care about animal welfare, they shouldn’t allow animals to languish in crowded, filthy cages for decades on end.”

The two-decade target is intended to protect farmers from financial hardship, as non-conventional systems are more expensive, Pelissero said.

Canadian farmers will move to several alternatives, including larger cages with amenities like nesting boxes and perches; housing that allow hens access to the entire barn floor; and farms that allow them outdoors.

The Humane Society is disappointed Canadian farmers aren’t phasing out cages entirely as the difference in welfare between birds raised in any type of cage compared with other methods is “night and day,” Thurston said.

Pelissero said there are downsides to any system. Chickens that have too much freedom can peck each other to death.

Canada, which manages supply and prices, produces eggs mostly for its domestic market. Prices paid to farmers reflect costs of production, meaning that egg buyers and possibly consumers will absorb higher prices, Pelissero said.

Most of a farmer’s cost of production is from feed, however.

— Rod Nickel is a Reuters correspondent covering the agriculture and mining sectors from Winnipeg. Includes files from AGCanada.com Network staff.

CORRECTION, Feb. 9, 2016: A previous version of this story misidentified Manitoba Egg Farmers as “Manitoba Egg Producers.” We regret the error.

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“Any form of abuse, neglect, cruelty, or mistreatment of the birds under our care will not be tolerated and may be grounds for immediate disciplinary action up to and including dismissal,” the pledge states.

Any farm that has severe animal welfare issues — like the instances seen in a now infamous Mercy for Animals video shot on an Alberta poultry operation — can have its egg-production licence suspended immediately.

“The zero tolerance to animal abuse was an unwritten policy before, but we’ve put it in there to make sure that everybody has a very strong understanding of what abuse means,” said Susan Schafers, chair of the Egg Farmers of Alberta.

“If there ever was to be a problem, we have a way to deal with it, rather than dealing with it on a case-by-case basis.”

The farm welfare policy, which along with animal welfare also covers areas such as biosecurity, came into effect in August, and has been strengthened since then.

“We’ve really gone beyond the code of practice requirements,” said Christina Robinson, producer services manager for the Egg Farmers of Alberta.

As of Jan. 1, producers must document daily barn inspections and abide by new handling, catching and loading guidelines for moving birds.

The new policy follows in the wake of one of the most publicized cases of abuse in the Canadian poultry industry — a 2013 undercover video shot by Mercy for Animals at Kuku Farms and Creekside Grove Farms near Edmonton.

It showed workers euthanizing chicks by striking their heads against a hard surface and tossing birds that were still alive into garbage bags. It also showed birds suffering from severe feather loss crammed into crowded cages.

‘Irresponsible treatment’

The video, which was aired on CTV’s “W5” in October 2013 and attracted national media coverage, prompted the Egg Farmers of Canada to commission the Center for Food Integrity in Kansas City to review it.

Although the three-person panel — which included University of Calgary animal welfare professor Ed Pajor — said it wasn’t possible to assess the operations based on the brief scenes in the video, they also stated those scenes “clearly show unethical and irresponsible treatment of animals.”

“It’s unacceptable and is not supported by any code of practice that I’m aware of,” Pajor said, following the panel’s review. “The rough handling, method of euthanasia, and quality of cage inspection are serious animal welfare concerns in this video.”

But Schafers said the new zero-tolerance policy, initiated by Egg Farmers of Canada, has been in the works for a long time and wasn’t a reaction to the incidents at KuKu and Creekside Grove farms.

“The KuKu incident has certainly brought some awareness to the whole industry, but Mercy for Animals Canada has done exposés on a lot of agricultural industries,” said the Stony Plain-area producer. “Everybody has an increased level of awareness.”

“We were reviewing the final draft of the policy in August and September, before we even knew the video was coming out,” added Robinson. “It may have pushed it up a bit, but it was still in the works.”

Pledge applauded

Pajor said the Calgary Stampede is the only other organization he knows of that pledges a zero-tolerance approach on an animal welfare issue.

“The zero-tolerance pledge isn’t something that comes to my mind as being common,” he said in an interview. “Where it is included in other types of assessments is that there is zero tolerance towards wilful acts of abuse during assessments and audits. A lot of assessments and audits will include automatic failure at the farm if there is abuse. But the idea of pledging zero tolerance for something is not something that I’ve seen a lot of.”

Pajor approves of the yearly signing of the pledge.

“Because they’re supply managed, they can actually control the licensing. What is good about the pledge is that it is an annual reminder of making sure that this is on people’s radar screen.”

As part of an animal care program introduced in 2004, producers are subject to regular audits on their farm. As of last year, producers need to obtain a score of 90 per cent to be licensed to sell eggs.

The Egg Farmers of Alberta has also created a policy for staff who witness animal abuse or cruelty.

“If any field inspectors or our staff are on farm and we see something that’s unacceptable, we now have a clear process on what to do to ensure that immediate action is taken to deal with the issue,” said Robinson.

The Egg Farmers of Alberta is still audited using a three-step audit process — a commonly used model in commodity organizations that have on-farm audits, said Pajor.

Anything that is causing immediate welfare concerns, such as injury or mortality to the bird, needs to be addressed as soon as possible, whereas minor adjustments to equipment have a different timeline.

Elements are weighted differently and the signed zero-tolerance pledge is now considered an essential part of the scoring.

Audits are conducted by inspectors from the Egg Farmers of Canada, with about one-third of audits to be completed by a third party. Audits are scheduled ahead of time because of the challenge of visiting farms spread throughout Alberta, but producers are not given a lot of advance warning before visits.

Egg producers must also have their employees sign a code of conduct, that sets out what is expected of them in terms of providing proper animal care. Employees must also promise to report any improper animal care they observe to their farm manager.

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