Five provinces in total have signed onto the agreement
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Provincial governments in Canada’s four western provinces have signed onto the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP).
The Sustainable CAP replaced the Canadian Agricultural Partnership on April 1, 2023, and will be in effect until March 31, 2028. The five-yar agreement will see federal and provincial governments invest $3.5 billion to support the Canadian ag sector.
The federal government provides 60 per cent of funding and the provinces invest the remaining 40 per cent.
Here’s how some of the funding shapes up for the western provinces.
Beginning with B.C., which announced its entry into the Sustainable CAP on March 15, “more than $140 million will be invested into strategic initiatives, a 25% increase over the previous funding agreement.”
The B.C. and federal governments expect Sustainable CAP funding will help the province’s ag sector in multiple areas like domestic and international marketing, emergency management and sector resiliency.
The Saskatchewan government signed onto the partnership on March 20.
Over the lifespan of the agreement, Saskatchewan’s ag sector will receive “$485 million for strategic agricultural initiatives…”
Of the total funding, $176.6 million is dedicated to build ag sector capacity, ensure growth and competitive advantages.
And another $175 million will go towards science, research and innovation.
Alberta announced its inclusion into the Sustainable CAP on March 28.
The province’s ag sector will receive “$508 million in funding over five years that will provide grants to programs that support the needs of Alberta’s agriculture and agri-food sector.”
Alberta’s programs will help create jobs, support value-added processing, attract new investment and expand irrigation capacity, while also protecting natural resources and plant and animal health and welfare.
Manitoba became the final western province to sign onto the Sustainable CAP on April 6.
Under this agreement, Manitoba’s ag sector will receive “$221 million for strategic agricultural initiatives” over five years.
A new program, the Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program, will fund on-farm projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Ontario is the only other province to sign onto the Sustainable CAP as of April 13.
It was the first province to do so, on March 1.
The five-year agreement will see Ontario’s ag sector receive $1.77 billion in funding.