Italy’s rich culinary traditions may have just gained UNESCO heritage status, but the Nutri3D project by the country’s public research agency ENEA shows scientists are out to push boundaries in the quest for sustainable, nutrient-rich snacks.

Prototypes include snack bars and glossy “honey pearls” designed to preserve flavour and nutritional value.

“In a world where arable land is shrinking and climate change forces us to rethink food production, the goal is to keep making what we are used to eating,” said Silvia Massa, head of ENEA’s Agriculture 4.0 lab.

The aim “is not to grow the plant itself, but its cells,” she added.

‘Italians add creativity’

Northern Europe has led early efforts, with Finnish labs producing fruit compotes from cell cultures and researchers in Zurich developing cocoa-like flavourings.

“We Italians add creativity, combining cellular food with recovered by-products,” Massa said, referring to the fruit residues from jam production for example.

The project is run with EltHub — an Italian private technology R&D firm that is part of ELT Group — and Rigoni di Asiago, a family-owned company specializing in organic food products.

At EltHub in the central region of Abruzzo, ENEA’s plant-based “inks” are shaped using a 3D printer.

An ENEA survey found 59 per cent of respondents willing to try such foods.

The technology could also be useful in resource-scarce settings, such as space or in conflict zones, said EltHub director Ermanno Petricca, dubbing the snacks “fruit for astronauts”.

ENEA is also testing microgreens and nano-tomatoes for space cultivation.

On Earth, 3D food printing could enable tailored nutrition for people with dietary restrictions. A plant-based steakhouse in Rome, Impact Food, is already offering 3D-printed sliced meat on its menu.

— Reporting by Matteo Negri

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David Hudson of IMI International, a global consumer tracking company, says there’s growing support for Canadian dairy products – even above the lofty levels of support of the past 10 years.

“Cutting through the noise, there is a lot of love for Canadian dairy farmers,” he said at the recent Dairy Business Summit put on by the Canadian Dairy XPO in Stratford on April 1.

The overall sentiment towards dairy farmers in Canada has risen from 74 per cent very positive or somewhat positive in January to 81 per cent very positive or somewhat positive in March.

He says the positive sentiment is expressed across all age demographics.

Support for dairy farmers isn’t new and has been high for the almost 10 years the company has been tracking it in Canada. What’s different is the increases in the past few months.

Hudson also showed numbers that illustrated growth in people’s intent to purchase Canadian products. A recent survey showed that 34 per cent of Americans purchased products because they were made in the U.S.A., whereas Canadians’ purchase of Canadian products jumped 11 per cent in a week to 63 per cent. Hudson says he expects the next survey will show Canadians’ commitment to Canadian products will jump to 80 per cent.

Opportunities with new Canadians

There were close to 500,000 new immigrants arriving in Canada in 2024, which represents new market opportunities, says Hudson. The federal government has since lowered the number of immigrants coming in the future, but those who are now here are committed to using dairy products.

New immigrants from parts of Asia are more committed to cooking with dairy than other Canadians, but Hudson said to make sure to give them the dairy products they are used to, along with introducing them to new ones.

That follows the trend seen by Quality Cheese, where they are making more paneer, a cooking cheese popular in India. Albert Borgo, said at the dairy business summit that the company he owns with his brothers is working on more ethnic dairy products, as the company expands capacity at its Orangeville plant.

He says there’s real interest in higher protein products in the marketplace and some people are getting that from dairy products.

New immigrants are more interested in quality than quantity and aren’t as focused on price as other Canadians, says Hudson.

“The freshness of dairy is likely to resonate with newcomers,” he says.

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Farmers are focused on the needs of our operations and our families, but society is looking to those on the farm to help them heal. The frank realization of our importance in the social fabric came into focus during a conversation with my neighbour.

He’s a ‘down to earth’ kind of guy who thinks a lot and finds it quite fascinating that I am from the farm. This brings to light what Dr. Temple Grandin has been trying to tell us for decades – that our ordinary is someone else’s extraordinary.

We were discussing the state of the nation and the world, from food to conflict and from drugs to disease. You get the picture — a rather somber conversation about the realities for many, especially those who live in conflict. And as we deepened the dialogue to solutions, he very softly said, “If you (farmers) could heal the soil, you could heal us all.”

Think about this from the perspective of not only a societal cry but also an honourable call to duty.

We are the sum of what we put into our bodies, what we believe and feel. As persons of the earth, farmers are closer to the roots of humanity than any other profession. So profound is our knowing that those in agriculture are often at a loss for the words to explain their ties to the soil and their love for the space in which they live.

I cannot express in simple words my own ties to food production because it is so intimate in nature. Yet, like my neighbour, my thought process is global and also appreciative that solutions are local and that the world changes one small act at a time.

What do we need to appreciate in this statement made by my non-farming friend? I believe that by healing the soil, my friend was not referring to carbon sequestration or some sort of sustainable practice.

He was thinking of it being healed to the point where it was self regenerating with systems in place to make that happen; that the soil’s memory once again nurtured beautiful food that was nutrient dense and of benefit to our bodies and our minds.

That is quite a challenge for a food production system that has created soil co-dependencies to achieve the required volume to feed our global populations. In reality, global farmers produce enough food for every person on earth to enjoy the required calories each and every day.

We do not have a food issue. We have distribution, corruption, conflict and competition issues that keep food out of the hands of those that need it. And in shorting those persons, they turn to what they can obtain, regardless of the impact of that choice to the very soil on which it was grown.

In countries of conflict, 50 per cent or more of food production land is negatively affected. It may be taken out of production from land mines, bombing, contamination or the regional droughts created by unloading a massive amount of chemicals in the air. That land may be dead because the birds and insects have been destroyed, the water is poisoned, the port is closed to inputs or because the cows that once fertilized it are gone.

As you read this, there are 110 nations in conflict and it does not take long to destroy the ground that feeds us. In a few short months, over 46 per cent of cropland in Gaza has already been destroyed. That leaves a huge gap in food security for the people today and in the future.

So often farmers in Canada and around the world are accused by those of a self-proclaimed higher authority as the problem in climate challenges. This is to divert our thinking from the realities of those same stakeholders’ participation in conflict, corruption and anti-competition.

War is profitable. Providing the food post-war is profitable. At some point, though, the countries supplying that food will tire their land beyond regeneration.

There is no hope of democracy or peace without food. Agriculture is the solution. While other countries try to rebuild and gingerly walk through mined fields, Canadian farmers are privileged to have the ultimate natural medicine at their feet.

Our lives are extraordinary and though we do produce nutritious plant and animal crops for ourselves and the world around us, we must pause to consider the potential harm if we continue to push the soil too hard or do not stop our own destruction of watersheds, wells, forests and fields.

Once gone, there is no turning back. Who will feed us then? If soil can heal us – and I believe this to be true – we must be mindful of every practice and policy that impacts its ability to heal, for it is the primary physician through food and the conductor of our wellness on the path ahead.

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Early in our conversations, I could tell what type of mindset each farmer had. They quickly shared how different they were from their parents in how they chose to operate. Not only were the young farmers armed with a growth mindset, but most of them, regardless of age, experience or life situations and challenges, were farming with a ‘can do’ attitude.

The word “mindset” is not one I hear often in agriculture and food circles compared to other areas where I’ve worked.

Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychologist considered one of the pioneers of mindset, says that it’s not intelligence, talent or education that sets successful people apart. It’s the way they approach life’s challenges.

According to Dweck, there are two different mindsets we have as humans: growth or fixed. A growth mindset is based on “the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts,” whereas a fixed mindset is “the belief that your intelligence, talents and other abilities are set in stone.”

What type of mindset do we use in ag and food as we do business within our sector, and how will this affect the future?

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned as a business owner within our sector is how instrumental mindset is to being an entrepreneur. Without a growth mindset, I wouldn’t exist as a small business owner. Almost all the business owners I know, or learned from when I started out in entrepreneurship, have a growth mindset.

It makes me think of the conversations I suspect are happening right now on farms across Canada, and how each generation is potentially approaching challenges and opportunities differently compared to another generation.

It also gets me thinking that mindset is not an age thing. There are many other factors at play, including when you were born and when your parents were born, the experiences that shaped your upbringing and how success was defined for you when you were chasing dreams as a young person starting out.

I suspect that success in the 1980s and early ‘90s for most farmers was likely about keeping the lights on during sky-high interest rates and building an appropriate farm size that worked to maintain the lifestyle built from what their grandparents had during and after the world wars.

Growth wasn’t a word used when interest rates were at 18 per cent.

Compare that with our era. If you’re a young person who doesn’t mention growth in some way almost daily as part of succession plans and annual business planning conversations, you’re made to feel like you’re behind.

The current and future generation of farmers, for economies of scale, will have to continue to grow in order to farm in Canada. That’s just what business calls for today, a stark contrast to what was asked of our parents and the way they farmed.

I think about how we’ll need to approach our challenges and opportunities as a sector. Will we have a growth mindset, working to find solutions while being agile, resilient, open to change and with a forward-thinking sense of optimism? Or will we approach our problems from a woe-is-me victim mindset that makes our solutions feel too far out of reach?

If we are to grow to be THE sector of our country’s future and attract the talent required, we’re going to have to look at how we portray ourselves and become a sector that creates and fosters everything from a growth mindset.

I can guarantee that the top talent and next generation of leaders and farmers want to know they’re part of the solution in how we address challenges and opportunities to feed our country and the world.

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The eventt brings together agri-food leaders and experts to exchange ideas and learn more about topics affecting global food systems.

In the first panel discussion, Feeding the Future with Canadian Innovation, Ocean Spray board chair and Bank of Canada board member Peter Dhillon spoke about changes he feels are necessary to the future of Canadian food. He said current practices and climate change could lead Canada to a food crisis.

 “What we could do 10, 20 years ago, we can’t do today.” 

He listed global food system disruptions such as Europe’s recent struggles with wildfires, India closing its borders to rice trade and California predicted to lose one million production acres by the end of the decade.

 “This is leading to something that I don’t think we’re giving enough attention to,” Dhillon said. “This should be a wake-up call to everybody.”

He compared the possible future food crisis to Canada’s current housing crisis, noting that if Canada had had more foresight, the housing crisis could have been avoided. The same mistake should not be made with food.

“Conventional food production is on a decline,” he said, but innovation could help to avoid catastrophe in the near future.

“There is a new emerging area in indoor growing that is happening. If you go to the Netherlands, they figured it out a long time ago. We need to do the same, especially in Canada. Especially having six months of winter all the time. How can indoor agriculture play a much bigger role?

“Sometimes it’s as simple a solution as just get out of the way. Start taking down those barriers,” Dhillon said. “A lot of the solutions are just regulatory.”

Patience will be important in the process of fixing Canada’s food system, he added.

“This is not a quick win. It’s a must-win, but it’s not a quick win. There’s going to be a social win, there’s going to be a national win … if we get this thing right.”

He said forums like the Arrell Food Summit are important in discussing food production issues.

“The platforms are here. We’ve just got to get Canadians or governments to start getting it as well.”

The second panel discussion of the day, The Business Case for Climate Solutions focused on the role of business and investors in climate solutions within the food system.

Many panelists agreed that finding climate solutions is a positive environmental move and a potentially profitable one for businesses.

“You can accomplish multiple goals,” said panelist Ellery Burton, principal managing partner at Alterra Innovation. “You can help the climate and help a business by eliminating waste, doing things more efficiently.

“There’s real problems out there that need to be solved. Go solve them and then, you know, prove it to others what the value of them is.”

Julia Gartside, global head of Climate Change Strategies for SLR Consulting, said she has seen growing interest in financial investment in climate strategies.

 “In the last four years, the biggest catalyst I’ve seen is that the investment community have woken up,” said Gartside. “Prior to that, it was the governments driving a lot and it was a lot of us thinking the consumers were demanding things.”

Sally Flis, director of Sustainability Program Design and Outcome Management at Nutrien Ag Solutions, spoke to the need for mutually beneficial outcomes for businesses and producers.

 “How do we make the grower more profitable with the practices that we’re recommending in the field and how do we drive our business at the same time?” she said.

Mohammed Yaghi, climate and agriculture policy lead at RBC’s Climate Action Institute, pointed to Statistics Canada data on the agriculture sector’s role in carbon sequestration.

“Agriculture is leading that way. The real question we need to answer is how can we, as a business case, remunerate producers for what they’re already doing on the farm right now?”

Yaghi said access to innovative technology could make Canada a leader in agricultural sustainability, and help businesses and investors as well.

“If agriculture wins, if every sector of the Canadian economy wins, ultimately we as a business win as well.”

Burton acknowledged the challenge in finding common ground.

“It’s such a mosaic between the growers, the crop consultants and leadership in a large company to figure out exactly where you can make progress,” he said.

However, he encouraged businesses to play a role in finding sustainable agriculture solutions.

“You guys have a lot of influence, a lot of power in those organizations, and I think what I would say is, be open to innovation.”

– Jonah Grignon is s reporter/contributor for Glacier FarmMedia.

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“By increasing our production capacity, we have been able to supply many more distributors, who are fond of our high‑quality product,” said Dany Deshaies, CEO of Sherbrooke-based SoyXpert Inc in a federal news release today.

SoyXpert was founded in 2019 and uses traditional Japanese techniques to produce its certified organic, firm tofu, its website said. It received the $400,000 “repayable contribution” through Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED), the news release said.

It recently built a new production facility and installed digital equipment, including a highly automated production line, which has allowed it to increase production and develop its flagship product ‘Soykei,’ the release added.

Quebec is home to multiple producers of the soy-based curd product, including Soyarie, Horium Foods Inc., and Unisoya.

Even so, local manufacturers haven’t always been able to meet demand in the province.

In early 2019, La Presse reported that Unisoya, unable to fill all customer orders, had voluntarily stopped selling to Costco. It was in the midst of expanding its facility.

At the time, Soyarie reported a 25 per cent or more increase in sales over the past few years, the La Presse report said.

The report attributed the increase in tofu demand to factors like the rising cost of meat, interest in reducing meat consumption for health and environmental reasons, and rising interest in vegetarianism.

In 2019, Quebec residents were more likely than other Canadians to eat tofu.

“In fact, 26 per cent of Quebecers will eat tofu on a regular basis versus 16 per cent in the rest of Canada,” said Sylvain Charlebois, professor of food distribution and policy and Dalhousie University, in a Jan. 31, 2019 report from CTV.

At the time, the province was experiencing a shortage of tofu.

—Geralyn Wichers is associate digital editor of AGCanada.com. She writes from southeastern Manitoba.

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But it’s much more than that, said a developer of a new program at Olds College, and the college hopes to be a pioneer in training the workforce needed to increase food production efficiency.

“We put a lot of focus in Western Canada on broadacre farming, but we’re at that point in time where we’re looking for more efficiencies in agriculture,” said Jay Steeves, dean of the Werklund School of Agriculture Technology at Olds College and a developer of the school’s new indoor agriculture certificate program.

“I think that indoor ag provides that kind of efficiency for land and space and just even opportunity.”

The program, billed as the first of its kind in Canada, is a four-month course designed to train people in controlled environment agriculture. It is now accepting applications for its fall 2024 launch.

Those who enrol can expect a blend of on-campus and online courses. Following course completion, students will have the opportunity to complete an optional field placement.

The demand for skills is out there, Steeves said.

“I would say there’s two groups: one that is very horticulture-focused and have that skill set but lack a little bit on the technical skill set. And then there are groups that have the technical skill set but lack on the horticulture side.

“We did a feasibility study at the college and there’s probably about 50 or 60 different corporations around the area that are dabbling in this and would love to have more people with a skill set kind (of) across that entire spectrum.”

Controlled environment agriculture is a broad term that includes a number of indoor systems that take a tech-based approach to farming.

The GoodLeaf Farms indoor farming operation in Calgary is an example of an indoor agriculture effort at its most controlled, with every possible factor in the plant growth cycle — temperature, humidity, light — accounted for without the use of pesticides, herbicides or fungicides.

There are a number of different configurations. A well-known one is “vertical” farming: the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers. This is the model Goodleaf Farms employs.

Steeves also points to a largely European model he’s dubbed “cube” farming.

“Basically, it’s these small, very automated boxes that are designed with all of the technology built in so it’s less manual in nature,” he said.

“A lot of autonomy is built into the unit. The harvesting and everything else is done with a robotic arm and things like that.”

It’s these kind of modern facilities that the Olds College program hopes to explore. The college already has a large horticultural foundation to build on, said Steeves.

“With that, we’re looking at some different ideas in terms of what it could be for vertical farming and container farming. We try to play with some different ideas of what we want for equipment on site so we can work with a variety of different things and we’re not locked into one particular unit.”

The program will initially focus on fruit and vegetable growth but won’t necessarily be limited to that.

“There are some very creative ideas around mushrooms. There’s even talk of insects for a protein source. I would imagine that’s a ways down the road before we start dabbling in that. But I think as we start to dial in our program and figure out what could be the most successful there, the creativity will come with time.”

When it comes to student options, the key word for Steeves is “stackable.”

That may mean students who already have degrees or diplomas who want to upgrade their skills or those who graduate from the certificate program and decide to pursue a longer, more involved course of study.

“We’re looking at a variety of demographics,” said Steeves. “There’s potentially the high school student, but we’re also really looking for someone who wants to add on kind of a stackable credential. They’re already in industry but are looking to upskill a little bit or maybe they’re just looking for a career change and want to jump in.”

Program admission is limited to 30 students for the Fall 2024 term. More information is available at oldscollege.ca.

The indoor agriculture certificate program is partially funded by RBC as part of a $150,000 commitment it made to Olds College to promote and advance research and innovation in the controlled environment agriculture field.

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Walking through the orchard with the sweet smell of ripening fruit and the warmth deep on my back, I gave thanks for the diversity.

Picking my way home, the sidewalk strewn with chestnuts and hazelnuts, I gave thanks for the way nature provides for us and for those creatures in the wild.

Regardless of where my foot was planted, there was reason and motivation to be excited about the food grown in Canada. From the beef so plentiful on our prairies to the maple syrup harvested in the east, this is a country of great opportunity – and of loss.

The spillover from the combine on one farm could have fed several families for a year. The imperfect fruit left to rot on the ground would have made thousands of jars of preserves. The nuts not gathered could provide enough plant-based protein for several residents.

Can we do better?

Canada is a country facing massive food insecurity, with those in need nearing 18 per cent, rating us seventh in the world. This is simply shameful in a nation that boasts one fifth of the fresh water on earth and is one of the largest food commodity exporters in the world.

Our trade policy however, has overridden the domestic need for access to food, food education and regional infrastructure that allows us to add value at the local level, keeping food and people in communities. Our social economic policies deprive our constituents of equity between genders and classes. And our national infrastructure is fragmented, immature and in many areas broken.

Food access is not directly a farmer’s issue. The majority of food waste in Canada, 60 per cent, is from the consumer or “at the plate” as it is called. But farmers can still be influencers in food security discussions.

In 1857 artist Jean-Francois Millet painted “The Gleaners”, an oil of women picking up the residue stalks in a field post-harvest. I have a copy of this painting and it always moves me, for there is a humbleness to the scene.

Historically, gleaning was seen as a poor man’s option and landlords would often refuse gleaning. In many eras it was considered theft that church, state and private owners used for oppressive control. It is still looked down upon today.

In a stark contrast to the limitations to land and food access through the ages and the centralization of food, price, availability and cultural or class differences, we continue to live in a society of abundance. Farmers now produce more than enough to support the caloric needs of every human on earth three times a day.

When I read that a young couple safely fed and clothed themselves for a year from the city dumpsters, I knew that I underappreciated just how much of a throw-away society we are. The current resolution is found at retail with food rescues such as Canada’s Second Harvest who save from landfill the equivalent of 150,000 meals a day. Food Banks Canada fills the gap where government failed and is visited by 1.4 million Canadians each month. Charity has attempted to be the solution to food insecurity.

The solution, however, resides with technology at harvest and cultural change. It resides in active, long-term social policy that is reflective of the universal human right to nutritious, culturally appropriate food.

The future of economic stability is in the creation of infrastructure to support both regional value adding and interprovincial trade in food commodities and food.

Lack of education regarding the value of food production and food processing is needed for our next generation of leaders to appreciate it as a pillar in the health and wellness of a society. They simply do not know the opportunities within the food system. Knowledge is foundational.

Food insecurity is equally an income issue. Our embarrassing level of food insecurity is a cumulation of many factors including high rates of inflation, the high cost of housing, fuel, electricity and services that all congress into a shrinking middle class.

Farmers can be a force behind a nation that feeds their own first. Not only is food a need, it is a right.

I went home with my bags of gleaned fruit and again, I thought about the plight of the farmer – with limited processing to deliver food products and a consuming public unwilling to stop waste at the plate.

We must recognize that this is a food system where all the stakeholders intersect. Just as farmers can do better, so too can all levels of governments, academia, processors, retailers and consumers.

A society of privilege is a society of choice. Canadians are picky eaters and they waste a lot. Farmers can lead the charge by putting their faces out there, reminding consumers “I grew this for you” while lobbying for greater say in the final destination of what they grow and for more investment in local infrastructure in communities to add value to all food.

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The proposal, already approved by the upper house Senate, passed by 159 votes in favour to 53 against, prohibiting the use, sale, import and export of food and feed “from cell cultures or tissue derived from vertebrate animals”.

Factories breaching such rules can be subject to fines of up to 150,000 euros ($162,700) and risk being shut down, while owners may lose their right to obtain public funding for up to three years.

The proposal of Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, a close aide of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is seen as part of a broader bid by the rightist coalition to safeguard tradition.

As the debate in parliament was under way, tensions erupted between demonstrators from agricultural lobby group Coldiretti and two opposition lawmakers, one of whom claimed the president of the lobby group, Ettore Prandini, had assaulted him.

“I believe it is subversive that the president of Coldiretti believes he can assault a lawmaker,” lawmaker Benedetto Della Vedova said, adding he would report Prandini to police. Della Vedova appeared to have been pushed in the chest in the incident but was not hurt.

Prandini told Reuters the lawmakers had provoked the farmers with offensive banners, and played down the confrontation.

The +Europa party and other opposition groups depicted the right-wing’s administration move as an attempt to please farmers and breeders’ lobbies, as lab-grown food is not yet available in the European Union.

Critics of the bill say producing meat without breeding animals would limit greenhouse gas emissions and provide an option for consumers who would appreciate eating a product that does not involve slaughter.

The opposition warned the government risked breaching EU single market rules by unilaterally banning the product in case the bloc ever decided to make lab food available.

Minister Lollobrigida reiterated the ban was needed to protect the food industry.

–Reporting for Reuters by Angelo Amante.

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After meeting with Liberal Party legislators in London, Ont., Trudeau said the government asked the executives of the five largest grocery chains, including Loblaw, Sobeys and Metro, to come to Ottawa next week to explain how they will stabilize prices. The five companies, representing 80 per cent of the Canadian grocery market, have until Oct. 9 to come up with a proposal.

“If their plan doesn’t provide real relief … we will take further action and we are not ruling anything out, including tax measures,” Trudeau said.

“It does not make sense in a country like Canada that our largest grocery chains should be making record profits while Canadians are struggling to put food on the table.”

In 2022, Canada’s three largest grocers — Loblaw, Sobeys, and Metro — collectively reported more than $100 billion in sales and earned more than $3.6 billion in profit.

Trudeau, who is under pressure over a lack of affordable housing, said his government will remove the federal five per cent sales tax on the construction of new rental apartment buildings.

“There are many developers and builders that are not moving forward with building new apartments because the costs are simply too high,” Trudeau said, adding the measure will lead to the creation of many new apartment buildings.

Trudeau’s minority government is propped up by left-leaning New Democrats and a federal election is only due in 2025. But opinion polls show the main opposition Conservatives, who accuse Trudeau of driving inflation through high government spending, would win power and end eight years of Liberal rule if an election were held now.

Boosting competition

Several grocery executives denied profiteering charges in a parliamentary committee earlier this year. But the lack of competition in the grocery sector has also irked the federal competition watchdog, and in June, it said more players were crucial to combat soaring prices of essential goods.

Trudeau waded into that debate on Thursday and said his government will remove provisions in competition laws that companies use to defend big mergers, saying cost savings outweigh negative impacts on competition.

Soaring food prices have been a concern for European governments as well and in March the French government reached a deal with the country’s main supermarket chains to help shoppers cope with food prices.

But the Retail Council of Canada pushed back against Trudeau’s claims and blamed the surging prices on food manufacturers and producers passing on higher costs to the grocers.

The association’s spokesperson Michelle Wasylyshen said any “credible discussion” on restoring prices must include food processors, manufacturers and other relevant businesses within the supply chain.

Sobeys and Walmart Canada had no immediate comment, while Metro declined comment. Loblaw said the company was “always open to discussions about what more can be done across the industry.”

In July, Trudeau shuffled much of his cabinet to focus on issues like a housing shortage and the rising cost of living and on Thursday he reiterated that he had no plan to quit.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on Thursday again blamed the housing crisis on Trudeau, and said he would introduce his own plan to get homes built to parliament when it reconvenes next week after the summer break.

— Reporting for Reuters by David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer; additional reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bangalore; writing by Denny Thomas.

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