BY
Published in The Financial Post
February 19, 2026
Infrastructure bottlenecks and market volatility are creating the impression that Canada is an unreliable trade partner
Talk to farmers across the Prairies and you hear a consistent message: the systems that help move Canada’s agricultural products are not strategically aligned to support the needs of the modern producer, the industry or our country.
Infrastructure bottlenecks and market volatility are creating the impression that Canada is an unreliable trade partner. Too many decisions outside our Canadian farmyards determine whether their products ever reach market.
Canada has the components to make a system that works, but our infrastructure and processes need improvement. Without a co-ordinated national strategy, producers and processors are repeatedly expected to absorb unnecessary risks that threaten a sector that contributed almost $150 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), $92 billion in export revenues and approximately one in nine Canadian jobs in 2024.
Farm Credit Canada’s recent announcement pledging new capital investment to the agricultural industry is certainly an important step in the right direction. I truly hope the billions of dollars that have been committed by more than 20 investment organizations will inspire more investment and innovation in this critical sector.
Agriculture is an asset that drives export growth, productivity and private investment at a time when Canada needs all three.
A few months ago, the Canada West Foundation, a think tank, brought together producers, processors, business leaders and governments to Regina to talk frankly about the opportunities and challenges facing this country’s agri-food production, processing and net exports. The message was consistent: an aligned and co-ordinated strategy involving all sectoral stakeholders can help Canada reach its unrealized agricultural potential.
Agriculture is a capital-intensive industry with narrow margins and tight timing. At the farm level, input costs are higher, financing terms are longer than typical consumer loans and weather volatility is a given. Southern Alberta’s irrigation expansion shows what happens when organizations such as the Canada Infrastructure Bank and producers share risk and use financing tools that fit the job. It is a model that could be applied across the country.
As part of the journey toward growing and scaling, farmers are looking for widespread market diversification. Canada’s two largest trading partners, China and the United States, are economic heavyweights with large populations. Diversification does not aim to replace these markets, but provides alternative locations and stability when trade challenges or market conditions disrupt the status quo.
But building up infrastructure to get products to new markets takes time. Processing plants and trade corridors take years to plan and finance.
At the same time, we need to deal with the fact that it is often harder to sell food across provincial borders than it is to export it. If meeting interprovincial requirements means clearing the same bar as international markets, the system undermines domestic scale and weakens resilience. A serious national strategy would treat Canada as a single market.
Canada’s reputation as a reliable supplier has taken a hit from supply chain disruptions, labour actions and aging assets. Capacity is part of the problem, but timing, co-ordination and resilience matter just as much.
Critical choke points such as Vancouver’s Second Narrows rail bridge are reminders that single points of failure carry national consequences. Agriculture needs a real voice in decisions about ports, corridors and trade infrastructure because everyone pays the price when those systems fail.
A national agriculture strategy won’t eliminate risk. But it can align governments, industry and capital around clear priorities and measurable outcomes. It can help guide the agri-food system into the future by identifying opportunities for support for on-farm production, infrastructure modernization and realignment where needed.
It can also show investors where their dollars can be strategically leveraged to support economic growth and reinvigorate innovation.
Canada has everything it needs to be a global agri-food leader. As I said earlier, the creation of a coalition to accelerate investment in Canadian agriculture and food is an important first step. But let’s be clear: this is not a National Agricultural Strategy. More work needs to be done, and I hope it is done soon.
The world wants what we have and what we produce. Without a comprehensive and co-ordinated national system, Canada’s agriculture and food industry won’t achieve its full potential, and that would be a real shame for the country and all Canadians.
Gary Mar is chief executive of the Canada West Foundation.