Last Thursday, the Government of Canada released a new Food Security Strategy. There’s a lot to digest in there, with some interesting implications for Newfoundland and Labrador. So we’re breaking down what it is, what it might do, and what it could mean for our province.
What Is the National Food Security Strategy?
The National Food Security Strategy is a document that sets out the federal government’s goals for food security in Canada. The Strategy is mostly about agriculture. It doesn’t address the fishery, and it doesn’t directly address household food insecurity.
Here’s how the Government of Canada frames the strategy’s focus:
“Canada’s future food security will be based on our ability to build a system where food is more affordable, where we reduce our dependence on other countries, and where we are less affected by external circumstances.”
The Strategy aims to build this system through programs and policies that create:
More choice: Building a more competitive supply chain that makes it easier to buy food (especially local food) at a reasonable price.
More control: Increasing food processing capacity in Canada, expanding the greenhouse sector, and providing farmers with more control over their operations.
More Canada: Increasing the amount of local food and adding jobs in the agri-food sector.
Reducing Corporate Concentration and the Food-Link Fund
One of the most interesting parts of the strategy is its focus on reducing corporate concentration in our food system. Currently, a small number of huge companies control most of our food supply chain. This includes shipping, storage, processing, and retail. The Strategy aims to change that by creating more options outside of corporate control.
The new “Food-Link Fund” is a big part of creating those non-corporate options. It is a $1 billion fund spread over 10 years. One major focus is creating and building on regional food hubs (e.g. our Avalon Food Hub and Western NL Food Hub). These hubs provide local producers with the infrastructure to sell directly to buyers. This allows producers and small retailers to bypass dealing with big corporations.
A Reflection of Food Organizations' Advocacy
The Strategy includes and reflects a lot of input from Canadian food organizations. Our CEO spoke to a parliamentary committee on this topic shortly before the Strategy's release. We are pleased to see a lot of what we spoke about in the Strategy.
However, we’re still waiting for details about the investment. As our CEO told the committee, we want the fund to support capital costs (e.g. equipment) and operational costs. Most of the work food hubs need to be successful comes down to people, not machines.
What isn’t part of the strategy?
Household Food Insecurity
The first line of the National Food Security Strategy is:
"The National Food Security Strategy outlines new initiatives to address the structural causes of food insecurity that are affecting Canadians across the country, particularly the most vulnerable."
Despite this claim, the Strategy does not address food insecurity, let alone its structural causes. Food insecurity is about not having enough money to buy the food you need and enjoy. The only proven way to reduce food insecurity is to increase incomes. The Strategy does not include any income-based changes or policies. Check out Right to Food’s thoughtful critique of the Strategy for a deeper look through this lens.
Food affordability is the Strategy's approach to improving food access for low-income households. More affordable food would let people buy more of the food they need/want with their existing income. That said, the changes the Strategy is trying to make won't reduce food prices quickly. Increasing competition and reducing corporate concentration will take time. More affordable food is great, but it's not enough to meaningfully reduce food insecurity.
Fisheries and Wild Food
The National Food Security Strategy doesn’t touch on fisheries at all and says very little about wild food access. For Newfoundland and Labrador, that is a glaring omission. Fish and wild foods are critical to our food systems and food security.
Targets and Dollar Figures
The National Food Security Strategy backs its food security goals with specific targets and lots of funding. We love to see it.
Key Targets
Increase the Canadian-produced share of healthy food available from 75% to 85%. They base "healthy food" on Canada’s Food Guide.
Target year: 2032.
Establish or expand 10 food hubs with lower average prices than major grocery retailers in the same area. They will compare the prices for a standardized list of foods.
Target year: end of 2028.
Increase the number of independent grocers who buy from food terminals or hubs by 15%.
Target year: 2030.
Increase the proportion of local food sales by small and mid-sized producers by 25%.
Target year: 2030.
Increase the number of Competition Bureau investigations open per year by more than 10%. These investigations result in close to $350 million per year in consumer savings.
Big Investments
$150 million in new funding for a Food Security Fund under the existing Regional Tariff Response Initiative.
Will support projects by small and medium enterprises/organizations that increase Canada's capacity to produce, process, and distribute food.
$100 million in new funding for Canada’s Global Innovation Clusters program to establish a Collaborative Food Innovation Fund.
Will encourage innovation in the agri-food sector
$1 billion over 10 years in funding for the new Food-Link Fund.
Will establish up to 20 to 40 food hubs or terminals and offer a viable alternative to major retail.
$150 million in new funding for the Regional Economic Growth Through Innovation program.
Will support agri-food projects that strengthen and build processing capacity.
$750 million over seven years in the Controlled Environment Agriculture Growth Pathway.
Will support projects to increase our ability to grow fruits and vegetables year-round.
What It Could Mean for Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are all too familiar with our food systems' issues. We are at the end of a long food supply chain that is often disrupted by geopolitical and climate disasters. Not to mention poor weather closer to home. Established corporate supply chains rarely work for or with our small-scale food producers. Getting affordable, quality food in rural communities (especially Labrador) is a massive challenge.
The new National Food Security Strategy signals that the federal government wants to address these issues. But it needs partners to make it happen.
Opportunities to Partner With the Federal Government
People and organizations in our province are full of ideas and energy about local food. We regularly hear from people with project ideas to address the gaps in our food systems. The Food Producers Forum works on these issues every day. It’s also what motivated us to open our two Food Hubs. We are certain the federal government will find plenty of willing partners in N.L.
Provincial Agricultural Strategy
Our provincial government is also developing a new 10-year agriculture strategy. Ideally, that strategy will align closely with the federal strategy. This would make both strategies more impactful and increase opportunities to access funding.
These strategies could transform provincial food systems — especially when paired with federal and provincial investments in school food programming.
Poverty Reduction Is the Missing Piece
At both the federal and provincial levels, the missing piece is decisive, strategic, and effective action on poverty reduction. Without meaningful change in people’s incomes, there are hard limits on how successful food system investments can be. We’re hopeful that the upcoming provincial poverty reduction strategy meets the moment. And that the federal government steps up there, as they seem to have in the food security space.
Posted: June 18, 2026