News Room

1. C-282 will hurt the 90% of farmers who depend on trade.

The success of the Canadian agriculture sector depends heavily on our ability to export to other countries, Bill C-282 threatens Canada’s current and future trade exports.
Agri-food exporters exported C$92.8 billion in agri-food products in 2022 and supported over a million jobs in urban and rural communities across Canada –all of which could be threatened and reduced by Bill C-282.
The agri-food sector is export oriented as we sell over half of our products in over 150 countries around the world. For example, anywhere from 50% of our beef to 90% of our pulses end up on plates around the world.
Agriculture and trade go together. International trade supports the accessibility and affordability of food, underpinning food security both in Canada and abroad.

2. C-282 is terrible trade policy for a country that depends on exports.

C-282 will hurt Canada’s ability to make decisions in the national interest.
Setting a protectionist precedent undermines Canada’s leadership and work at international forum like the WTO.

3. C-282 is bad policy for a highly diversified economy.

Canada is a trade dependent country, over half of our GDP depends on trade. We need trade to sustain, diversify and grow our economy.
This Bill prioritizes the economic interests one sector above the economic interests of any other sector in Canada.
The upcoming “Joint Review” of CUSMA, which will begin in July 2026, risks being derailed through Bill C-282 by weakening the hand of our trade negotiators and providing an easy target for their American counterparts.

Key Facts

In 2022, Canada exported nearly C$92.8 billion in agriculture and food products.
The United States is Canada's top trading partner, accounting for about 60% of all our agri- food and seafood exports and more than half our imports.
Agriculture and agri-food industry is one of Canadian sectors with the highest economic growth potential in Canada.
Canada is the fifth-largest exporter of agri-food and seafood in the world, behind the EU-27 block of countries, U.S., Brazil, and China, and exported to nearly 200 countries in 2022.
Trade moves food from surplus to deficit countries, increases the availability of food, reduces prices and can promote food security.
Trade can increase the diversity of foods, as foods that cannot be produced domestically can be imported from other countries. Diversity in foods and nutrients provides the basis for healthy diets.
Without trade, the availability and accessibility of foods and nutrients would be more unevenly distributed, any form of domestic production disruptions would cause serious concern for food security, and diets would be less diverse.