A new national strategy recognizes food as essential infrastructure while highlighting innovation and resilience

In April, AFI released a policy brief for the federal government’s consideration as it crafted Canada’s first National Food Security Strategy (NFSS). That strategy was released in June and reflects many of the imperatives highlighted by AFI and the food-sector leaders we consulted.

The strategy marks an important step in positioning food as a national priority. It also creates new tools to address infrastructure, processing, innovation and regional food security.

1. Food as national infrastructure

One of the most important signals in the strategy is the positioning of food systems as a key national priority. The Prime Minister reinforced his Davos statement, noting that a country that can’t feed, fuel and defend itself “is not truly sovereign.”

This elevates food alongside defence and energy as a critical national concern. It also reflects a broader recognition that food security is not only about affordability or supply, but about sovereignty, resilience and long-term economic strength.

The strategy’s focus on filling infrastructure gaps is especially notable. The $1-billion Food-Link Fund will support large urban food terminals and create 20 to 40 regional food hubs as distribution nodes across Canada, including in rural, remote, northern and Arctic communities.

It also includes support for operational and digital infrastructure to improve supply chain logistics and coordination. As noted in AFI’s policy brief, addressing this “missing middle” infrastructure tier can help local and regional producers add value, extend shelf life and access institutional markets.

The NFSS pairs this with a more localized approach to implementation. Canada’s food system is exposed to national-level threats, including trade disruptions and climate change. However, growing regions vary widely, requiring solutions that reflect local realities. The strategy responds by allocating $100 million over seven years “to support rural and northern communities to develop and implement solutions that work best to address their unique challenges.”

2. Building domestic capacity and innovation

The strategy also places attention on strengthening Canada’s domestic food capacity.

For too long, Canada has exported raw food only to buy it back in processed form. This weakens domestic capacity and resilience. The NFSS will use the Strategic Response Fund to support projects that strengthen local food processing, including new processing capacity and modernized infrastructure.

Another $150 million through the Food Security Fund will support small- and medium-sized enterprises and food-system organizations to expand domestic processing, food production, storage, distribution and delivery to communities.

The focus on year-round fresh food production is also important. Too much of Canada’s food is imported. Most fruits and vegetables come from or transit through the U.S., leaving the country exposed to trade disruptions. The strategy aims to strengthen year-round self-sufficiency through new funding for controlled environment agriculture and the adoption of new technologies. Its focus on streamlining internal trade and encouraging public-sector procurement of Canadian food is also welcome.

Food-system innovation is another area of progress. The Food Security Fund targets food processing, production, storage, distribution and delivery, while the Collaborative Food Innovation Fund aims to build a consortium model that helps Canadian SMEs strengthen business practices, including intellectual property commercialization, demand generation and processing innovation.

A $1-billion Agri-food Project Finance Fund, delivered by Farm Credit Canada, is also intended to catalyze capital-intensive, high-potential projects.

3. Questions for implementation

As the strategy moves toward implementation, AFI will be watching several areas closely.

The first is how climate and nature are embedded in the strategy’s goals and actions. Some elements link food and climate concerns indirectly, often through economic strength, such as controlled environment agriculture supports for technologies that reduce energy and operating costs. In other areas, climate and nature impacts are less clear.

The strategy provides new powers for temporary approvals of certain pesticides under specific conditions if deemed necessary for food security and economic security, but potential climate and nature impacts are not addressed. Similarly, the mention of Atlantic Canada’s natural gas potential for fertilizer needs does not explain how climate impacts from additional gas extraction would be considered.

AFI will also be looking for more attention to the social and consumer side of food insecurity. Social innovation and social infrastructure are essential to addressing food inequality. This includes community-based food infrastructure, income-based interventions and a rights-based approach to food that recognizes access to nutritious food as a matter of dignity, health and equity.

The strategy includes some measures aimed at reining in prices, including increasing Competition Bureau capacity to investigate negative corporate practices and amending legislation to consider food security and cost alongside health and safety. These are important tools, but further investments will be needed to help more Canadians access local, nutritious food.

Another question is how food security will be embedded across government mandates, including climate, health, trade and defence. While many aspects of the strategy will involve multiple departments, a strategic coordination office could help support cross-governmental and intergovernmental alignment.

Finally, realizing the vision within the strategy will require pathways and supports for the next generation of food-system workers and leaders, including new people entering farming. AFI looks forward to contributing to this effort through the federally funded SF4C and TICAN programs and encourages continued emphasis on skilling youth for agri-food jobs of the future.

4. Conclusion

Canada’s first National Food Security Strategy is a step toward treating food as essential national infrastructure. Its commitments to regional food hubs, domestic processing, innovation, controlled environment agriculture and rural and northern communities respond to issues AFI and sector leaders have identified.

It is also notable that the NFSS was unveiled at the Ontario Food Terminal. Recent research by the University of Toronto and the University of Guelph shows the facility directly underpins food security in the Greater Toronto Area and offers a clear example of the regional food-system infrastructure Canada will need to strengthen in the years ahead.

The next test will be implementation. A secure, resilient food system will require coordinated action across sectors and recognition that food security is tied to climate resilience, economic development and the well-being of all Canadians.