Honourable Chair, Deputy Chair, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
The issue of food security sits at a critical crossroads, linking climate, national security, nutrition and equity. Today, I will speak to two main points: food insecurity,which relates to affordability, poverty, pricing and access; and, second, the potential for agriculture to be a cornerstone of national food security.
With regards to the first of my key points, the timing of this meeting is fortuitous. This morning, a team of us from across Canada, and led by Dalhousie, published the 16th annual Canada Food Price Report. This year’s report paints a stark picture. We anticipate food prices will rise by 4-6% over the next year, costing an average family of 4 an extra $1000 in an environment that is already pushing budgets to their limit.
If we look within the data, we must confront several challenging dimensions. The people experiencing food insecurity are disproportionately from families who are Black, Indigenous, or from other racialized groups. They are often new Canadians. And a huge number of food-insecure people live with some form of disability. To survive, people are skipping meals, compromising on nutritional quality, and going to food banks.
We also must confront the fact that we cannot look at food insecurity in isolation from low wages and high housing costs. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to bring one of Afghanistan’s top agricultural scientists to work with me at the University of Guelph, thanks to a program that helps scholars at risk of persecution. In doing so, I’ve become deeply involved in helping their extraordinary family settle here – and I have been shocked at the cost of their very modest living arrangements. A single bedroom, 700 square foot apartment – for a family of five – costs $2,100 a month, or more than my mortgage.
My point is that food insecurity is directly tied to housing costs, wages, and food prices. That makes it incumbent on all of us to recognize both the need for – and limitations of –emergency food support services and programs.
Such charities are a critical part of addressing short-term individual crises but will never solve the economic drivers of food insecurity.
Now let me turn to my other key message for you.
If food insecurity relates to wages, housing, and food access, food security relates to the power of our agricultural sector to deliver healthy and sustainable food.
On this front, we are in a moment of incredible opportunity and peril. Agriculture and agri-food have huge potential to drive positive change on climate, nutrition, equity and national sovereignty. But we must do this in a time of huge upheaval thanks to the trade war and climate change.
To protect from the perils and take advantage of the opportunities, we need a robust agricultural sector that is innovative and transformative. It’s been said that civilization is only ever three days, nine meals, away from food anarchy. If the ships and trucks bringing fresh produce from other countries stopped arriving, that’s how quickly we’d run out.
To be truly food secure, indeed to be secure as a nation, we need to not only focus on those policies to help consumers afford healthy food, but also create the infrastructure of resilient farms and supply chains to serve Canadians in times of plenty, and protect us in times of need.
I see three key strategies to achieve this goal.
First, we need to invest in an ambitious program of applied research, training and infrastructure to build up our food sovereignty, realizing that food security is national security.
Second, we must attract capital into agriculture, agri-food and food systems innovation – and Canadian companies must boost their at-home research and development. We can’t keep exporting our best ideas alongside our beef and lentils.
Third, we must train the next generation, bringing a diverse array of people and thinkers into the agri-food solution space. This directly links to our work at the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph. Our new federally funded innovation training platform called “Sustainable Food Systems for Canada” is supporting innovators and entrepreneurs from all over the country as they work to create more equitable and resilient food systems.
In the end, the key message I’d leave you with is to embark on a two-part nation building strategy. The first should focus on food insecurity and address head-on the fact that 1 in 4 Canadians is food insecure and develop the social programming to fix this problem. Second, Canada should invest in research and training, and develop the strategies to attract capital, so that we build the strong, resilient production and distribution system that will not only see us through crisis but also lay the foundations for a more prosperous sector and country.
Thank you very much for your time and attention – it is wonderful that you are spending your energy on this issue and I am extremely grateful to have been able to share these thoughts with you.
Learn more about the 2026 Food Price Report
The 2026 Canada Food Price Report provides an evidence-based forecast of expected food price increases, drawing on national expertise from U of G and other partner institutions.
This year’s analysis highlights the economic pressures shaping household food costs, as well as the broader policy and innovation challenges influencing Canada’s food system. Explore the full report, related press materials and expert commentary to better understand the factors driving food affordability in the year ahead.