The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) was disappointed to see insufficient investment in Canadian agriculture in the 2024 budget.
CFA President Keith Currie said farmers continue to struggle under the weight of high-interest rates, a price on carbon for essential farming activities, for which farmers have no viable alternatives, and an increased risk of extreme weather events.
He said these challenges are testing the limits and effectiveness of risk management programs.
“While we understand there are competing priorities for government funds, with erratic weather and high prices tremendously increasing the risk profile of Canadian agriculture, the government can ill-afford to ignore food production and Canadian farmers,” Currie said.
Some positives in the budget included a re-commitment to launch of consultations on interoperability more commonly known as right to repair, carbon rebates for small businesses and previously announced funding for temporary improvements to the Advanced Payments Program.
The government responded to CFA’s recommendation to increase to the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption, an important tool in supporting intergenerational farm transfers.
Curry said the increase to the inclusion rate holds the potential to make transfers more challenging given the amount of capital required to remain competitive. CFA will be assessing the full implications of these changes for intergenerational farm transfers in the coming days.
“If Canadian agriculture is to seize its full economic and climate potential, we cannot keep missing opportunities while our international competitors continue to invest in their agriculture industries,” Currie added.
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