“(This) is a responsible measure that will reduce operating costs for truckers and businesses in the food, agriculture, housing, construction, and delivery sectors,” he said.

In a news release, the federal government said it intends to introduce amendments to the Excise Tax Act that would temporarily suspend the application of federal fuel excise taxes on gas, diesel and aviation fuel.

The excise taxes are currently set to 10 cents per litre on gas and four cents a litre on diesel fuel and aviation fuel. Once the suspension expires, the excises taxes will return to those amounts.

The federal government estimated that the tax suspension would provide more than $2.4 billion in total tax relief.

Truckers pleased

The Canadian Truck Operators Association welcomed the announcement. In a statement, the association said it had raised concerns in late March when diesel prices exceeded $2.39 per litre in parts of the greater Toronto area.

“For many small carriers and owner-operators, every cent matters. This measure will provide meaningful short-term relief and signals that government recognizes the challenges facing an essential industry,” said association spokesperson Tej Dulat.

The effectiveness of the measure will depend on how efficiently fuel costs reductions are reflected across the supply chain, the association said. It will be important that fuel costs reductions are clearly reflected at the pump.

Provinces may consider similar short-term measures, Dulat added.

-With files from Reuters

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It will also likely mean Carney won’t have to worry about an election for years.

Capping off an extraordinary few months in Canada when several opposition members joined Carney’s Liberals, his party said in a statement it had secured seats in all three ridings.

WHY IT MATTERS: Canadian farmers and rural ridings, particularly in Western Canada, lean heavily toward the Conservative party in federal elections

Those were the Ontario ridings of University-Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest which have long voted Liberal as well as a hard-fought seat in Terrebonne, Quebec.

The wins take Carney’s Liberals to 174 seats in the 343-seat House of Commons.

“This is a decisive moment for Canada — one that calls for serious leadership, a strong economic plan, and leaders from all backgrounds standing up to build a better future,” the Liberal party said in a statement.

No longer reliant on other parties’ support

The Liberals have relied on selective support from the Conservatives to pass economic and trade-related legislation in the last year.

“He will be able to pass legislation without having to go to the opposition to secure enough votes,” said Andrew McDougall, assistant professor in Canadian politics at the University of Toronto.

“I think it’s too early to tell, but my thinking is, is that government policy, ag or otherwise, will have a better chance of moving through the system,” said Senator Rob Black in an interview with Glacier FarmMedia.

Black, who until recently chaired the Senate agriculture committee, championed Bill S-230, the National Strategy for Soil Health Act, which passed in the Senate in late March.

Black said he thought all parties in the House of Commons and Senate “all have that desire to drive on a little bolder, quicker.”

‘Won through backroom deals’

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre took to X to express his dissatisfaction at both the process and the result: “The Carney Liberals did not win a majority government through a general election or today’s by-elections. Instead, it was won through backroom deals with politicians who betrayed the people who voted for them.

“While the Prime Minister spent the year on this cynical power grab, he has doubled the deficit, and given Canada the worst grocery prices and housing costs in the G7,” he wrote.

The result means Carney has solidified his grip on leading Canada until at least 2029, when national elections are due to be held next. The last time a federal government had a majority in Parliament was under Justin Trudeau from 2015 to 2019.

His position had been strengthening gradually as five opposition legislators in five months defected to the Liberals. Only the governments led by John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, and Jean Chretien have seen more politicians defect to the ruling party.

‘Large Liberal tent’

Last Wednesday, longtime Conservative politician Marilyn Gladu switched parties to join Carney’s government, saying Canada needs “a serious leader who can address the uncertainty that has arrived due to the unjustified American tariffs.”

Gladu, a former chemical engineer who has previously drawn criticism for promoting unproven scientific treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic, opposing a ban on conversion therapy and suggesting the military be used to end Indigenous-led protests against oil pipelines, thanked Carney for inviting her into “the large Liberal tent.”

The University-Rosedale seat was previously held by former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who resigned after being appointed as economic development advisor in Ukraine.

The Liberals also said they won a special election to replace former Liberal lawmaker Bill Blair, who resigned after he was appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom.

In the third riding in Terrebonne, Quebec, the Liberals defeated the separatist Bloc Quebecois.

Carney a centrist leader

Laura Stephenson, chair of the political science department at the University of Western Ontario, noted that while Trudeau had shifted the party to the left and prioritized issues like reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, rights for minority groups and immigration, there are more pressing matters for Carney, a more centrist leader.

“He is focused on helping Canada survive the economic turmoil, not remaking society,” she said. “When we’re in tough times like this, there are different calculations being made.”

Recent polling from Nanos shows more than half of Canadians prefer Carney as their prime minister, with just 23 per cent picking Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. Before Carney became leader of the Liberal Party last year, Poilievre had been projected to win the next election by more than 20 points.

“Carney has done a fairly good job showing Canadians he can handle Trump,” said McDougall of the University of Toronto. “He’s shown Canadians he’s a competent manager of the economy and the country,” he said. “And so far Canadians have not been overly impressed by the alternatives.”

-With files from Jonah Grignon, Glacier FarmMedia

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WHY IT MATTERS: More than 80 per cent of pulses exported from Canada to India are grown in Saskatchewan.

The Canada-India Pulse Protein Centre of Excellence would be built at the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management in Kundli, 40 kilometres north of New Delhi, said the Saskatchewan government in a March 3 news release.

The proposed centre would focus on the advancement of pulse protein processing and the development of fortified foods. It would also strengthen the relationship and support economic growth between the two countries, as well as improve global nutrition, reduce environmental impacts and advance sustainable agriculture.

Both the U of S and NIFTEM were named by their respective federal governments to be the co-chairs of the facility.

“The University of Saskatchewan has a strong history of developing agricultural innovations that have real world impact,” said Baljit Singh, the U of S’s research vice-president.

“We are committed to addressing the global demand for plant-based proteins and applying our world-class researchers, labs and infrastructure to address these needs. We look forward to working alongside our partners in India and the Government of Saskatchewan to create sustainable solutions.”

The pulse protein centre was announced during a trade mission to India by Canadian officials, including Canadian prime minister Mark Carney and Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe.

“Our province is essential for global food security,” Moe said.

“This announcement represents an opportunity to bring Saskatchewan’s expertise and ingenuity in pulse production to the people of India. By working together, we will accelerate innovation, expand processing capabilities, and help meet growing demand for affordable, high quality, sustainably grown foods.”

More than 80 per cent of all pulses exported from Canada to India are grown in Saskatchewan, primarily lentils, chickpeas and yellow peas.

“The Centre of Excellence underscores the long-term partnership between Saskatchewan and India in pulses,” Saskatchewan Pulse (SaskPulse) Growers chair Stuart Lawrence said.

“This collaboration between academia and government can help ensure more pulses are included in large-scale food applications and enhance the role pulses play in delivering nutritional security for the benefit of Indian consumers and Saskatchewan farmers.”

Saskatchewan has exported more than $18 billion worth of goods to India since 2007. The province opened a trade and investment office in New Delhi in 2021, one of nine worldwide.

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The visit signals a deliberate shift from crisis management to economic statecraft.

In Mumbai, Carney announced that Canada aims to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India by the end of this year, with the goal of doubling two-way trade by 2030. The message was pragmatic: the two countries may not always agree, but engagement must continue.

From rupture to reset

Canada-India relations deteriorated sharply in September 2023, leading to diplomatic expulsions, reduced staffing and suspended trade negotiations. For much of the past two years, the relationship was defined by security tensions and mutual distrust.

The first signs of stabilization came at the 2025 G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alta., when Carney’s invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi signalled a diplomatic breakthrough. High commissioners were reinstated and ministerial channels reopened. Carney’s India visit suggests the reset is moving from symbolism to implementation.

The logic is clear. Canada’s heavy trade dependence on the United States has become riskier amid tariff threats and political volatility. Diversification is no longer aspirational; it’s strategic.

India, as one of the world’s fastest growing major economies and an increasingly central figure in global supply chains, offers scale and long-term opportunity.

Energy as the anchor

Energy emerged as the central pillar of Carney’s two-day visit. Canada and India have relaunched the Ministerial Energy Dialogue and are advancing discussions on uranium supply, conventional energy trade and clean energy co-operation.

India’s energy demand continues to rise as economic growth accelerates. It remains heavily import-dependent on crude oil and natural gas while also seeking to expand low-carbon baseload power. Canada, meanwhile, is looking to reduce its overwhelming reliance on the U.S. market.

With expanded export capacity through the Trans Mountain pipeline and growing LNG infrastructure, Canada is better positioned to reach Indo-Pacific markets than at any point in recent decades.

While Canada will not displace other suppliers, it can become part of India’s diversification portfolio. Long-term uranium agreements, in particular, would embed trust through decades of commercial interdependence. Nuclear co-operation offers durability that few other sectors can match.

Critical minerals, structural alignment

Beyond fuels, critical minerals represent a deeper strategic opportunity. Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy aligns closely with India’s National Critical Minerals Mission in terms of lithium, nickel, cobalt, rare earth elements and downstream supply chains.

For Canada, the goal is not simply exporting raw resources, but building integrated value chains through processing partnerships, recycling and technology collaboration. For India, secure access to minerals is essential for electric vehicles, semiconductors, defence industrial supply chains and clean energy technologies, particularly as it seeks to reduce dependence on China-dominated processing networks.

Progress in critical minerals would move the relationship beyond symbolic diplomacy toward structural alignment.

Although CEPA negotiations have stalled in the past, both countries now face stronger incentives to revive them amid global trade turbulence and diversification pressures.

Progress on energy and minerals can help build domestic support for stability while wider trade talks continue.

Innovation, security

Carney’s visit also emphasized people-to-people and innovation ties. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand launched a new Canada–India Talent and Innovation Strategy, including 13 new university partnerships spanning artificial intelligence, hydrogen research, digital agriculture and health sciences.

Education has long anchored Canada–India relations. Embedding research collaboration and talent mobility strengthens long term institutional linkages that outlast political cycles. Artificial intelligence co-operation, in particular, aligns Canada’s strengths in responsible AI governance with India’s scale in digital infrastructure and AI deployment.

Despite economic progress, however, security concerns between India and Canada remain unresolved. The diplomatic fallout of 2023 continues to affect trust.

During the visit, Anand faced repeated questions about foreign interference and transnational repression. She emphasized that public safety concerns must be addressed through direct engagement rather than disengagement.

Recent reports of ongoing threats and warnings to Sikh activists in Canada show that underlying tensions persist, even as both governments seek to prevent them from defining the entire relationship.

Ottawa’s tone appears more measured, but the conflicting narratives between the two countries remains evident.

The road ahead

Carney’s challenge is now therefore twofold: advance economic co-operation while preventing unresolved security disputes from derailing the broader reset of the Canada-India relationship.

Improved ties with India also align with Carney’s broader foreign policy vision, articulated in Davos, that middle powers must co-operate more closely in response to fractures in the global order.

India’s inclusion in a broader Indo-Pacific tour alongside Australia and Japan underscores that this engagement is part of a wider strategic recalibration.

Stabilizing relations with India is therefore not simply a bilateral exercise. It’s about positioning Canada more credibly in the Indo-Pacific region and strengthening co-ordination among democratic middle powers navigating geopolitical uncertainty.

The significance of Carney’s visit lies less in rhetoric and more in trajectory. By setting a target for a trade agreement, advancing energy and uranium co-operation, deepening critical minerals alignment and expanding academic partnerships, Ottawa is attempting to anchor the relationship in long-term interdependence.

The reset is not complete. Security tensions still cast a shadow. But the visit suggests that both governments are willing to compartmentalize disputes and focus on areas of shared economic and strategic interest.

—Saira Bano is an assistant professor of political science at Thompson Rivers University.

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New Delhi and Ottawa hope to increase bilateral trade to US$50 billion by 2030, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during a joint media appearance with Carney, from nearly US$9 billion (C12.3 billion) in 2024-25.

WHY IT MATTERS: India is a key market for Canadian pulses, particularly lentils, and also imports other goods like packaged foods. However, Canadian farmers have faced tariffs on pulse exports to that country.

The two sides have agreed to the terms of reference on a comprehensive economic partnership, the Indian foreign ministry added.

Pulse protein centre of excellence

In a joint statement, Carney and Modi “highlighted expanding opportunities for collaboration in agri-technology, research, and value-added food production, and agreed that deeper agricultural partnership will advance sustainable farming practices, nutrition security, and mutually beneficial trade and investment.”

They welcomed a proposal to create a “Canada–India Pulse Protein Centre of Excellence” at India’s National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) Kundli. The aim of the centre would include collaboration on research, advancing pulse protein processing and strengthening ties between academia and industry in the two countries.

Carney and Modi “noted the complementary strengths of the Province of Saskatchewan as a global leader in pulse production and innovation, and India as the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses,” the statement said.

Uranium deal

They also agreed on a C$2.6 billion uranium deal and will work on building small modular nuclear reactors and advanced reactors, both sides said. “In civil nuclear energy, we have concluded a landmark deal for the long-term supply of uranium,” Modi said.

The Indian government and Canada’s Cameco have signed a uranium supply agreement to support India’s nuclear ambitions and to work towards a clean, reliable base load power, Carney added.

Relations between India and Canada deteriorated sharply in 2023 after then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh separatist, accusations New Delhi rejected as “absurd”.

The dispute deepened and led to expulsions of diplomats and freezing of trade negotiations.

Carney’s four day India visit is aimed at resetting ties, as both countries look to diversify trade away from the United States due to tariff announcements and deepen cooperation in areas such as clean energy, critical minerals and agricultural value chains.

India sealed a free‑trade pact with the European Union in January, while it recently paused negotiations with the United States on a proposed deal, hoping to resume once there is greater clarity following the invalidation of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

–Reporting by Sakshi Dayal, Shivangi Acharya and Shilpa Jamkhandikar, with files from Glacier FarmMedia.

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The Saskatchewan trip from Feb. 28 to March 6 has been planned for nearly a year to coincide with the annual Raisina Dialogue, a conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics where Moe will speak.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is also traveling to India next week for a couple of days to meet with prime minister Narendra Modi on free trade talks and drum up investment partnerships. Moe and New Brunswick premier Susan Holt will join him for meetings before Carney moves on to Australia and Japan.

WHY IT MATTERS: The Canadian and provincial governments continue to look to expand trade opportunities amid ongoing tariff threats from U.S. president Donald Trump. Canadian pulse growers currently face 30 per cent import duties on yellow peas into India, as well as 10 per cent tariffs on lentils as India protects its own farmers.

Moe told reporters Feb. 25 he hoped to address the agricultural tariffs, particularly because India could raise the lentil tariff to 30 per cent as of April 1.

“The hope today is to not have them increased,” he said.

“We’ll be engaging on that topic.”

However, he isn’t necessarily expecting movement as a result of this trip. He said that will take more negotiation and missions similar to what happened in China with regard to canola tariffs.

Moe said he hopes Carney and Modi will agree to reinvigorate discussion around the Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which stalled several years ago.

That would be a positive step for Saskatchewan, which has exported $18 billion worth of products to India since 2007. In 2025, those exports totalled $1.4 billion.

Asked why Carney would again ask him to join a trade mission, as he did in China, Moe said it’s likely because Saskatchewan has been doing positive work in the market, as evidenced by the trade statistics.

The province is one of the most trade-diversified, selling into 160 countries, and Moe said that’s due to hard work and building relationships.

“I think there’s a recognition by the prime minister that we can be helpful in this space,” the premier said.

“We’re happy to see that we have a prime minister that is willing to look at the economic agreements that we have with these countries, and I think we have a role to play in supporting, advancing, those opportunities. We’ve been waiting some time to have somebody in the room that’s willing to sign a trade agreement with countries like India.”

Saskatchewan provincial budget

Meanwhile, Moe signaled this week that the provincial budget to be delivered next month will have a deficit but no tax increases. He said other provinces have also tabled deficit budgets, and he urged people to compare the deficit per capita once Saskatchewan has introduced its fiscal plan.

“There are revenue challenges due to the trade uncertainty, market uncertainty around the world,” he said.

“We experienced pretty significant agricultural tariffs in our second largest market being China, and that starts to show up, definitely on the revenue line, at the farmgate and at the provincial government level.”

However, he said the Saskatchewan economy is resilient, at least in part because it is so diversified and not dependent on a single commodity or a single market.

The opposition NDP said it didn’t trust the government to provide the province’s full financial picture.

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“We will finalize the terms of reference and are hoping to launch talks for a free trade agreement later this week,” Piyush Goyal told reporters.

— Reporting by Shivangi Acharya

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Among Group of Seven countries, Canada recorded the highest rate of food inflation in December, according to government data. Food prices rose by 6.2 per cent in December, double the rate in the U.S., and more than three times the rates in France and Germany.

Carney leads a minority government and relies on support from other parties to pass legislation and stay in power. While Canadians have consistently rated Carney as the best leader to deal with threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, voter sentiment could change quickly if concerns about American aggression lessen — and cost-of-living issues become more urgent, as they have in Britain, the U.S. and elsewhere.

A statement from the Bank of Canada this week noted that grocery prices jumped by 22 per cent in the last three years, compared to 13 per cent for other consumer prices. The central bank said last year’s food inflation was mostly driven by imported foods, supply shortages caused by extreme weather and the significant depreciation of the Canadian dollar in 2024.

Carney announced last week that the country’s poorest 12 million people will get a tax credit for the next five years, “to make sure Canadians have the support they need now.” The government is also taking other measures, like setting aside C$500 million to help businesses deal with supply chain disruptions and allowing producers to write off greenhouse expenses.

Tax credits and supply chain support

But the measures do little to lower food prices in Canada, which is now the biggest driver of inflation, according to Jeremy Kronick, director of the Centre on Financial and Monetary Policy at the C.D. Howe Institute think tank in Toronto.

“This will mostly provide relief to people who are choosing between paying rent or buying food, but it is not going to bring food prices down,” said Michael von Massow, a professor at the University of Guelph who specializes in food economics.

John Fragos, press secretary for Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, said the new government initiatives were only a first step towards curbing food costs.

“We’ve bridged the food inflation gap as it exists now and we’re taking aim at structural issues that will, over the medium and long term, bring down the price of groceries,” said Fragos.

In late 2024, ex-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced a two-month suspension of a sales tax on selected goods “to give Canadians more money in their pockets.” It had mixed results, with some sectors like restaurants reporting increased sales while other businesses did not see an impact.

Canada’s unique grocery market problems

Academics point to entrenched issues including the dominance of just five companies in the grocery sector, a shorter growing season for produce in Canada, and a reliance on the U.S. that has resulted in higher prices via supply chain disruptions.

“There are some uniquely Canadian problems that make the cost of food here so very expensive,” said Michael Widener, who studies food systems at the University of Toronto.

“Labour and transportation costs are higher, and geographically, we are not close to many other markets,” he said, adding that the dependence on produce from the U.S. and Mexico made Canada extremely vulnerable.

Sylvain Charlebois, an expert in food distribution at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, said the government should focus on efforts like eliminating high transportation costs between provinces, addressing the high internal costs of production due to labour laws and the industrial carbon tax among other constraints, and increasing competition within the grocery sector. Canada is a major producer of canola, wheat, dairy and meat but is almost entirely dependent on imports of fresh produce during the winter.

Fresh fruit and vegetables routinely cost at least twice as much in Canada as they do in Britain and elsewhere in Europe; a two-pound bag of carrots in Canada costs $2.21, compared to $0.95 in Britain and $1.18 in Germany, according to online retailers.

Food prices ‘not a voting issue’

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has long railed against the high cost of food for Canadians, but that has not translated into increased support. He still trails Carney by double digits in opinion polls — and Carney’s approval has risen since his widely praised Davos speech that openly called out the world’s superpowers for using “economic integration as weapons,” according to several polls.

A poll by Nanos on January 30 showed 54 per cent of Canadians approved of Carney but also noted that 11.4 per cent said inflation was their biggest concern, up from 9.3 per cent a month earlier.

The Conservatives’ co-deputy leader Melissa Lantsman told reporters on Monday that “no amount of tax rebates” will solve the problem of food inflation, adding that more than 2 million Canadians, or about five per cent of the population, now rely on food banks, the highest-ever recorded number.

Shachi Kurl, president of the non-profit pollster Angus Reid, said despite food costs consistently ranking among Canadians’ top concerns, Trump’s repeated threats to annex the country have translated into a bigger issue for voters.

“For the time being, food prices are not a voting issue,” Kurl said. “But if Canadians think that is something they can hold their leader accountable for, it may yet become one.”

Ashton Arsenault, who was an aide to a Conservative minister under previous leader Stephen Harper, said exorbitant food costs should present an opportunity for Conservatives to win more public support, but that a steady rise in prices over the years have largely left most Canadians resigned to the inflation.

“Even when things get really bad, we are still very Canadian and polite about it and don’t take to the streets to protest,” he said. “This is a very tough problem to fix and it will take political courage to do it.”

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Leading up to that day, media outlets reported “workforce adjustment” notices coming for multiple departments, with AAFC among them. When, and how many jobs lost for agriculture? The closest thing to an answer I could find the night before appeared to be a letter to AAFC staff from the department’s deputy minister, copied and posted to Reddit by a third party on the CanadaPublicServants subreddit.

There was no reason to doubt its accuracy, but the idea of relying on Reddit as a sole sources makes any good journalist squirm. Fortunately, our national affairs reporter, Jonah Grignon, was able to get confirmation from an AAFC source on Jan. 22 that the letter was correct: about 665 positions were to be cut, with notifications going out to affected employees that day.

Later the same day, though, we began seeing more posts from third parties on social media, this time that federal research farms and facilities would be closing. From the federal government itself though? We got only crickets.

Most of our staff were still out Jan. 23 confirming where job cuts and facility closures are to happen at all.

A single federal press release or public statement up front would have made our jobs way easier and freed up time to ask the deeper questions: how will these cuts affect farmer-facing services and research?

More to the point, it would have given some much-needed certainty rather than abdicating the conversation to spiral into speculation and rumour.

This isn’t necessarily to suggest there shouldn’t have been spending cuts. After the last federal budget rolled in November, we all knew there would be cuts — just not the where, when or how.

Nor is it to suggest federal officials had nothing else important to do. That week in the news included the prime minister’s remarkably consequential speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and the cabinet retreat in Quebec right afterward, ahead of the House of Commons coming back Jan. 26 from adjournment.

But Canada’s government is a big organization and can do more than one thing at a time. On Jan. 22 alone, it publicly announced a funding extension for the Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program, funding for subway train manufacturing in Quebec, a new Competition Bureau report on businesses’ use of “algorithmic pricing,” seizures of contraband at the federal penitentiary in Kingston and that a National Film Board-funded short film is up for an Oscar.

My point is, the Liberal budget firmly declared a dual agenda of building a more versatile Canadian economy while “spending less to invest more” and pursuing responsibility through this “comprehensive expenditure review.”

Yet when workforce adjustment and closure notices went out nationwide, affecting thousands of workers’ lives and communities, the government chose not to get out in front of its cuts at all — even if just to try and keep control of its own messaging.

The government’s budget trumpeted its commitment to fiscal responsibility by cutting $60 billion in spending over the next five years. It’s not to much to ask that, once a course of action is set, the Liberals at least try to own their own decisions.

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“We’re working to address the root causes of inflation and working on longer-term solutions to bring down the cost of groceries in Canada,” said Prime Minister Mark Carney. “That starts by improving the resilience of our supply chains.”

“Global supply chain shocks caused by tariffs, weather events from a changing climate, and geopolitical disruptions have caused food prices to rise faster than overall inflation,” he added.

Carney announced Monday morning the government’s new plans for a national food security strategy, including support for food infrastructure and the Competition Bureau, a grocery rebate and unit-label pricing.

WHY IT MATTERS: Food affordability and insecurity remain major barriers for Canadian consumers.

In the 2025 budget, the government called food security a key factor in Canada’s agricultural competitiveness. Food affordability and insecurity remain major barriers for Canadian consumers.

Tariffs have added more uncertainty to the issue, affecting prices throughout 2025. Retailers have passed on many of these supply chain costs to consumers.

The government committed $500 million from the previously announced Strategic Response Fund toward helping food businesses expand capacity.

It will also introduce immediate expensing for greenhouse buildings, allowing producers to fully write off greenhouses acquired on or after Nov. 4 of last year.

Carney said there will also be support for the Competition Bureau to monitor and enforce competition in markets.

Another announced measure is unit label pricing “so Canadians can compare easily, in this era of shrinkflation.”

— With files from Reuters

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