Food and beverage (F&B) manufacturers are at the center of Canada’s food supply. F&B is the largest manufacturing sector in Canada. Few Canadian agriculture products make it to Canada’s grocery shelves without first being transformed by one of this sector’s 7,000+ companies. Read the recommendations in our pre-budget submission to the federal government here.

(Ottawa) August 6th, 2020 – The latest round of fees introduced by large grocery retailers on their suppliers has attracted coverage in the news media over the past week

FBC-ABC is pleased to be part of a Canadian manufacturing group led by CMC that has united on a number of recommendations for the Prime Minister that will assist businesses and the economy emerge from COVID-19.

Since the start of COVID-19, front-line food and beverage workers have continued to work, with little public recognition, so that Canadians can continue to eat. So critical are these workers that provincial and federal governments have recognized them as essential.

June 5, 2020, Food and Beverage Canada, together with its provincial association members – Food and Beverage Atlantic, CTAQ, Food and Beverage Ontario, Food and Beverage Manitoba and BC Food and Beverage – wrote to the Prime Minister and federal Minister of Finance requesting supports for the sector;

May 27, 2020 Food and Beverage Canada – Aliments et boissons Canada hosted its second Annual General Meeting and elected the following Executive Committee for the 2020-2022 term.

May 21, 2020 Food and Beverage Canada’s provincial association member, BC Food & Beverage has taken the lead on launching a program to provide Personal Protective Equipment on behalf of the food and beverage manufacturing sector.

In uncertain times, it is more critical than ever for Canadians to have access to good, high quality, and nutritious food. That is why the Government of Canada is taking steps to support the farmers and businesses who provide Canadians with the food they need to keep themselves and their families healthy.

May 25, 2020 Congratulations to Food and Beverage Ontario on creating and launching this important campaign today – Frontline Food Facts. FBC-ABC is pleased to be involved in this initiative which will celebrate frontline food workers and connect with consumers on their burning question about the food and beverage manufacturing industry.

May 11, 2020 Food processing industry associations submitted a letter to the Hon. Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, outlining the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Canadian food and beverage manufacturing sector and the importance of having a seat on the newly established, Industry Strategy Council.

April 24, 2020 We are writing on behalf of Canada’s food and beverage sector. COVID-19 has placed unthinkable pressure on all aspects of the country’s economic and social infrastructure. As Canadians, we are fortunate that as the country battles the COVID-19 health care and economic crisis, critical industries like food manufacturing continue to operate, ensuring Canadians have access to essential products.

April 25, 2020 Ottawa, Ontario - Canada’s fish and seafood sector is essential to our collective food security and our economy. The Government of Canada recognizes the need to support the hard-working women and men of the industry during this challenging time of COVID-19.

April 2, 2020 Under extraordinary circumstances, Canadian food companies continue to work tirelessly in supplying the food system for Canadian consumers. In order, to make certain the supply chain remains robust and able to deliver, Food and Beverage Canada – Aliments et boissons Canada has communicated the following top priorities to the federal government.

April 1, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Department of Finance Canada -The Government of Canada is taking immediate, significant and decisive action to support Canadians and businesses facing hardship as a result of the global COVID-19 outbreak.

The spread of COVID-19 has created shortages in sanitization products and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Public Safety Canada is gathering information from critical infrastructure owners and operators to better understand the scope of potential shortages in Canada.

The Government of Canada is making additional investments to support Canadian businesses from the economic impacts of COVID-19. These new investments provide support to financial institutions and allow them to quickly provide credit and liquidity options for a range of businesses.

The Government of Canada is taking strong, immediate and effective action to protect Canadians and the economy from the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic. No Canadian should have to choose between protecting their health, putting food on the table, paying for their medication or caring for a family member.

Canadian farmers and food businesses work hard so Canadians have quality food on their grocery store shelves and kitchen tables. In these times of uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make sure that they are supported so they can continue providing the good, healthy food that nourishes our families.

On his briefing this morning the Prime Minister thanked “people across the entire food sector”. He noted that for “farmers and people across the agri-food business” these are hard times.

March 20, 2020—Ottawa—The Government of Canada is providing an update on travel restrictions put in place to stem the spread of COVID-19. 

Food and Beverage Canada – Aliments et boissons Canada has learned that due to the border closure announced by Premier Trudeau on March 16th, temporary foreign workers will not be able to enter Canada for work on farms and in food production facilities. These individuals are important members of the workforce and contributors to Canada’s food supply chain.

Food and Beverage Canada congratulates The Honourable Carla Qualtrough on her appointment as Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion and The Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino on his appointment as Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Labour is the number one issue facing Canada’s food and beverage manufacturing sector today.

Food and Beverage Canada congratulates The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau you her recent re-appointment as Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Food and beverage is the largest manufacturing employer in Canada, collectively employing over 260,000 people. Total sector shipments, at over $112.4 billion, are the second largest of any manufacturing sector in the country.

Food and Beverage Canada congratulates the members of Canada’s federal Liberal Cabinet on their recent appointments. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the appointment of Chrystia Freeland as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.  It is critical that women across Canada, and indeed around the world, witness for themselves the presence and contributions of women in positions of political authority. We are all made stronger when our governments are inclusive and representative.

Having won the most seats in Election 2019, Justin Trudeau has indicated his plans to form a minority government, rejecting any possibility of forming a coalition with other parties. The Liberals are now left to govern in a difficult and fragile political environment - one made more challenging by the regional polarization in Canadian federal politics. The Liberal’s failure to win any seats in Alberta or Saskatchewan has left a significant gap in the government’s caucus. Justin Trudeau has confirmed he will announce his new Cabinet on November 20 – much later than expected but providing time to decide how to represent Western Canada around the Cabinet table.

On the eve of the Thanksgiving weekend, Canada’s federal Conservative Party released its 2019 Federal Election Platform. Regulatory Modernization Reduce the federal regulatory burden by 25% over 4 years by setting targets for each minister and each department. Implement a 2-for-1 rule requiring the federal government to get rid of two regulations before imposing any new one.

On October 5, the Liberals released their 2019 Election Platform Forward: A Real Plan for the Middle Class. Food and Beverage Canada has reviewed this platform which sets out the priorities Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party will focus on if re-elected. The platform shines a spotlight on middle class Canadians with a focus on children, families and seniors. It also continues the Liberal Party’s emphasis on Climate Change and Reconciliation.

The federal government has committed close to $4.6 million towards national food and beverage processing research. The funding, announced by the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, will support the Canadian Food Innovators’ (CFI) research cluster, “Using science and innovation to strengthen Canada’s value-added food industry”.

The annual conference of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Agriculture took place from July 17 to 19 in Quebec City. Key issues impacting Canada’s agriculture and food processing sectors, including trade and market access, labour and regulations were frontline concerns at this session with an agenda mirroring the priorities identified in the federal Agri-food Economic Strategy Table report released last fall. That report called on Canada to increase domestic and export food sales to $140 and $85 billion, respectively, by 2025.

Ottawa – July 19, 2019 – Today, the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced an investment of up to $30 million in the Canadian Food Innovators Network (CFIN) to be led by Canadian Food Innovators.

The Government of Canada’s commitment to launch a three year economic immigration pilot will assist in addressing current and forecasted labour shortages for food and beverage manufacturers. The pilot will focus on the meat processing sector by attracting and retaining workers through a pathway to permanent residents. A maximum of 2,750 principal applicants plus family members will be accepted per year. For more information on this recent announcement made July 12, 2019 view the Government of Canada’s media release and backgrounder here.

Ottawa, June 17, 2019 – Food and Beverage Canada – Aliments et boissons Canada (FBC-ABC) acknowledges the Government of Canada’s leadership in announcing that it will ban harmful single-use plastics as early as 2021 and will work with provinces and territories to implement standards and reduction targets for companies that manufacture or use plastics. This announcement follows closely behind Canada’s commitments to the G7 Oceans Plastics Charter and the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment’s Zero Plastic Waste Strategy in 2018.

Interview with PrimeTime Politics, Peter Van Dusen, provides insight on the recent announcement and implications to Canadian food and beverage manufacturers.

Aliments et boissons Canada estimates that by 2025 food and beverage manufacturing businesses across Canada will have up to 100,000 unfilled positions.

A number of measures announced in the 2018 Fall Economic Statement delivered yesterday demonstrate the federal government’s commitment to support competitiveness and new investment in Canada’s food and beverage processing sector, according to Food and Beverage Canada (FBC-ABC).

Food and Beverage Canada (FBC-ABC) shares the concerns of the Government of Canada, as well as the business and manufacturing community, on the recent actions taken by the United States in regards to imposing punitive tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium from Canada.

Budget 2018 continues the commitment to supporting agri-food, a high potential sector, by further strengthening the policy frames as industry and government strive to realize the ambitious target to grow Canada’s agriculture and food exports to $75 billion by 2025.

Kathleen Sullivan appointed as chief executive officer of the recently launched Food & Beverage Canada

The government of Canada is moving forward with the development of a much needed Food Policy for Canada

Over 1,500 food and beverage processing businesses across the country unite to launch new Ottawa-based, national organization mandated to work with governments and other stakeholders on industry priorities.