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The First World War wreaks havoc

The First World War (1914–1918) artificially stimulated agricultural activity across North America. Farmers were urged to increase their production in order to feed countries devastated by armed conflict. The result of this, just a few years after the war ended, was a situation of overproduction. As prices fell, farmers succumbed to debt and rural dwellers moved in large numbers to urban centres. By 1920, agriculture accounted for no more than a third of Quebec’s economy. The province was firmly on the path to urbanization, and industrialization would soon follow.

With the growth of the urban population and the increasing need for fresh food, farms began to specialize. As a result, subsistence farms started to die out. Market gardening and fruit production (mainly located near cities), along with dairy production, became the main sectors used to meet the market demand.

Recession, colonization, and cooperation

In 1921, Quebec’s urban population outnumbered its rural population for the first time. The province now had more than 2.3 million inhabitants, nearly a million of whom lived in rural areas. Despite urbanization, the number of farms was also increasing, largely due to efforts to colonize and develop agriculture in northerly regions. In 1921, there were 137,619 farms in Quebec; by 1941, the number had risen to 154,669.

This period also saw the rise of the cooperative movement, spurred by a 1908 law allowing the creation of agricultural cooperatives. Between 1909 and 1924, more than 300 such cooperatives were established in Quebec. It was against this backdrop that Canada’s largest agricultural cooperative, the Coopérative fédérée de Québec (now Sollio Groupe Coopératif), was founded in 1922.

The omnipresence of the clergy

In 1921, representatives of the Catholic Church were instrumental in the creation of the Confédération des travailleurs catholiques du Canada (forerunner of the CSN). The primary aims of the Confédération included preventing the unionization of Quebec workers by large international workers’ unions.

A few years later, the clergy—with the hope of curbing the growth of farmers’ unions from Ontario and Western Canada, considered by the Church to be dangerously socialist—supported the creation of the UCC (now the Union des producteurs agricoles). The clergy would play a prominent role in the UCC’s activities for many years. Priests would preach the benefits, even the necessity, of joining the Union during mass; shortly thereafter, the recruiter would pay farmers an official visit.

Founding of the UCC and Crédit agricole

The interwar period was marked by the recession of the early 1920s and the infamous stock market crash of 1929. At the UCC’s founding meeting in October 1924, farmers’ debt levels emerged as one of the main themes. But it would not be until 1929 until meaningful action was taken on the issues raised by delegates, with the adoption of federal legislation creating the Canadian Farm Loan Board. Unfortunately, the credit rate offered, 6.5%, was too high to stem the crisis.

In the early 1930s, Quebec’s gross farm income fell drastically, from $110.5 million in 1928 to $57.1 million in 1933. In 1932, a petition was signed by 12,000 farmers supporting the UCC’s demands. In 1936, the newly elected premier, Maurice Duplessis, honouring one of his election promises, had a bill on agricultural credit drafted with the help of former UCC presidents and its current president, Abel Marion. A few months later, the province adopted its own Farm Credit Act and created the Office du crédit agricole du Québec.

Farmers organize

On October 9, 1924, a week after the UCC’s founding convention, farmers in the parish of Saint-Nazaire-d’Acton in Montérégie region created the first local UCC circle. This was followed immediately by the creation of another circle in Saint-Edmond-de-Coaticook. In the span of a year, the UCC had 255 local circles totalling 11,500 members, which represented nearly 10% of Quebec farmers.

However, the recruitment rate dropped rapidly in the following years. Local circles had difficulty communicating with each other, and the central secretariat struggled to keep its members properly informed. Two solutions emerged: establishing regional structures to bring together the local circles in a given region, and creating the Union’s first newspaper, La Terre de chez nous.

The rural exodus continues

Despite these developments, farmers continued to head to the city to find work. For most, this meant working in factories under harsh and dangerous conditions for meagre wages that were barely enough to survive on. It was at this time that the first major workers’ strikes took place in Quebec. The events inspired some who had left for the cities to return to work on their farms.

Rural areas join cities in demanding electricity

In the early 1920s, protest movements sprang up in towns and cities denouncing the high prices and excessive profits of private electric companies were making from power generation and distribution. A few years later, with farms starting to modernize and farmers wanting the same access to the electricity network as city dwellers, the UCC joined the debate, supporting urban Quebecers’ demands and adding that rural residents had a right to electricity too.

After a long struggle, the government passed the Act to promote rural electrification by means of electricity cooperatives, in 1945. A former UCC president, Albert Rioux, had been appointed by the government to advise its legal experts in drafting the bill.

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Maurice Duplessis takes his seat in the National Assembly

In 1944, Maurice Duplessis became the leader of the Quebec government. Relying on support from the clergy, the farming sector, and local elites, he governed the province with an iron fist until 1959.

A new labour relations law

With the new Labour Relations Act having been adopted just before he was elected, Duplessis stepped into office facing a delicate situation. If at least 60% of an employer’s workers wanted a collective agreement, the employer was now forced to negotiate “in good faith” with the union representing them. A legally accredited union now had the power, but also the duty, to defend the interests of its members as well as all the workers within its bargaining unit. This was a pivotal moment for the Quebec labour movement. The legislation gave workers’ associations much greater leverage against intransigent employers—and against the Duplessis government itself, which was strongly anti-union.

Origin of the Rand formula

In 1946, Justice Ivan Rand of the Supreme Court of Canada issued an arbitration decision in response to a strike at the Ford Motor Company plant in Windsor. Rand’s landmark decision established that all workers in a bargaining unit should be obliged to pay union dues, including those who refused to join, since they too benefited from the gains negotiated. This requirement, which was dubbed the Rand Formula, would become a key position of union organizations such as the UCC a few years later.

Creation of the FAO

In 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations was created. The historic founding conference, held at the Château Frontenac in Quebec City, was the result of a commitment made two years earlier by 44 government leaders at the Food and Agriculture Conference, organized by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt. With Europe in ruins and the threat of hunger mounting, ensuring that people had constant access to adequate food was a vital priority.

The early years of collective marketing

In the early 1950s, the UCC had 40,000 members in 700 local syndicates and 20 regional federations. Almost half of Quebec producers were also members of cooperatives, including in order to jointly sell their products. However, stabilizing market prices by adequately adjusting supply to match demand remained a challenge. There was increasing support for using collective marketing contracts for agricultural products to solve this problem.

In 1951, the Héon commission examined existing problems around the production, sale, and distribution of agricultural products. The commission’s findings were the basis for the Duplessis government’s landmark 1956 legislation, the Act respecting the marketing of agricultural, food and fish products. To implement this law effectively, the Office des marchés agricoles (now the Régie des marchés agricoles et alimentaires du Québec) was established. The Act opened the door to the creation of joint plans in various production sectors. Each joint plan, which covered one or more products (milk, lumber, eggs, etc.), was overseen by a marketing board led by representatives of agricultural producers’ groups from the applicable production type. These boards could now negotiate prices and terms of sale that were fair to all parties.

Insuring crops

The end of the Second World War in 1945 brought many of the same conditions as the first, including agricultural overproduction and falling prices. The number of farms continued to dwindle: a startling 38,500 farms disappeared in just ten years.

During this period, UCC representatives tried to obtain compensation from the government each time the harvest was poor, hoping to save the hardest-hit farms. In 1959, the federal government introduced the first crop insurance program to assist producers; in Quebec, meanwhile, this kind of insurance was still being considered.

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The first major reform: education

When Jean Lesage’s Quebec Liberal Party came to power in 1960, it pursued education reform with the aim of bringing Quebec up to date. In 1961, it created the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Education (known as the Parent Commission). The commission’s recommendations reflected the new values of a modern Quebec, where education was not considered a luxury but a right. This new perspective was reflected in:

• The government’s prioritization of free education
• The creation of the Ministère de l’Éducation (1964)
• The creation of Collèges d’enseignement général et professionnel (Cégeps)—the only such institutions in the world (1967)
• The creation of the Université du Québec network which made higher education accessible to many more Quebecers, particularly those in rural areas (1969).

New levers for development

During the 1960s, the Quebec government introduced a number of powerful economic development levers, creating the Société générale de financement in 1962 as well as the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Régie des rentes du Québec in 1965. It also nationalized electricity. In addition, the Labour Code gave public-sector professionals (lawyers, engineers, doctors, etc.) the right to unionize.

A revolution in healthcare

The introduction of universal health insurance in 1970 brought major upheavals in Quebec society. The UCC took a stand in the years leading up to this reform and participated in a trade union coalition to demand a free, universal health care system.

Rural communities take action

During these two decades of modernization, Quebec’s urban population continued to grow, while the rural population flatlined. Between 1961 and 1980, the number of farms dropped by half, from 95,777 to 48,144. To some extent and in some cases, this exodus was actually planned by government bodies. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Bureau d’aménagement de l’Est du Québec (BAEQ) pushed for the closure of several towns and the relocation of thousands of residents to neighbouring towns. Citizens, farmers, and forest producers launched “Opération Dignité” in resistance, and succeeded in getting the government to invest in creating jobs in agroforestry rather than continuing the tack it had taken.

The fight against expropriation in Mirabel

On March 27, 1969, some 12,000 residents of 13 municipalities in the Basses-Laurentides learned, via a radio broadcast, that they were to be expropriated by the federal government for the construction of a new international airport. Farmers in the parish of Sainte-Monique organized what was described as the struggle of villagers and farmers stripped of their land, homes and identity. This battle would continue for more than 30 years. Of the 97,000 acres that were taken by the government, 80,000 were returned in 1985 and another 11,000 in 2005.

Farmers strengthen their collective tools

Support for more and more specialized agriculture continued. The goal was to usher in a new phase of development and diversification of production. In 1961, amendments were made to the Loi sur la mise en marché that opened the way for the creation of joint plans for the market gardening, fruit, dairy, and poultry sectors. In 1972, federal legislation created a framework laying out the powers of the national and provincial marketing boards. This facilitated concrete and effective agricultural supply management across Canada.

The Régie de l’assurance-récolte was introduced in 1968. Following a series of vigorous demonstrations organized by the UCC and its affiliated groups, the Bourassa government passed theAct respecting farm income stabilization insurance in 1975.

The UCC becomes the UPA

In 1972, following the tide of secularization of institutions that had begun during the Quiet Revolution, the UCC changed its name to the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA). That same year, after the adoption of the Farm Producers Act, the UPA was legally accredited to represent all of Quebec’s agricultural producers. In addition to accrediting a single agricultural producers’ organization to protect the profession, the Act defined the status of agricultural producer. This definition is an important one, since, in line with the Act respecting the marketing of agricultural, food and fish products, it prevents large agri-food companies that own agricultural land from gaining control over producers’ marketing boards, which manage the joint plans.

Policies to modernize Quebec

The Parti Québécois came to power in 1972, bringing the Quiet Revolution to a close, and adopted a series of progressive orientations and policies.

As early as 1970, the UPA was calling for legal protection for farmland. The uncontrolled growth of cities, exacerbated by land speculation, was a serious concern—particularly in the Montreal plain, site of Quebec’s most productive cropland. In 1978, the National Assembly under the Lévesque government passed the Act respecting the preservation of agricultural land and agricultural activities, a legislative milestone in the development and protection of Quebec agriculture.

Market globalization on the horizon

During the 1970s, exceptional events such as the drought in the Sahel and population growth in developing countries led to increased international demand. France, which had achieved food self-sufficiency, was encouraging agricultural exports. Switzerland, Norway, Japan, South Korea and, to a lesser extent, India were following the same path.

The agricultural revolution was advancing quickly. Farmers who managed to generate income made investments, while those who failed to do so went out of business. Meanwhile, much of the world, particularly Africa, was becoming increasingly dependent on imports to meet the needs of its growing cities. Imported foods were often more affordable than locally grown ones. In many regions around the globe, farmers found themselves in worsening financial situations, unable to find outlets for their produce. What was needed was solidarity between agricultural producers across borders.

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Collective marketing to feed Quebec

In 1980, the Lévesque government began setting development targets for each sector with a view to promoting food self-sufficiency.

Farmers also increased their efforts to better organize the marketing of their products. After merging the joint plans for fluid milk and industrial milk, dairy producers formed a single federation in 1983. The Fédération des producteurs de porcs du Québec set up electronic auctions to sell livestock to abattoirs. Cattle producers developed tools for their specific needs: sales agencies, electronic auctions, specialized auctions, and negotiated payment guarantees. New production sectors (rabbits, goats, bison, aquaculture, organic farming) organized themselves collectively and joined the UPA. By 2000, more than 85% of Quebec’s agricultural products were being marketed collectively by specialized groups.

In 1982, the UPA supported the creation of the Fédération de la relève agricole du Québec (FRAQ), followed in 1986 by the Fédération des agricultrices du Québec, which later became the Agricultrices du Québec. These two groups enjoy the same prerogatives as their fellow specialized groups.

International trade

Starting in the mid-1980s, governments increasingly withdrew from the economy, preferring to let the market steer itself. The hope was that this would encourage international trade and counter the slump in prices for agricultural commodities.
The 1990s brought the full impact of market globalization: the World Trade Organization replaced the GATT (General Agreement for Tariffs and Trade), the European Union was founded, and free trade agreements were signed between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. These international trade negotiations would be reflected in Canadian policies as well, through:

• Cuts to government support
• Import quotas replaced by customs tariffs
• The introduction of support programs that increasingly ignored true production costs.

Farmers everywhere were worried about the impact of free trade agreements on markets and, ultimately, on their business revenues.

A first summit on the future of agricultural policies

In 1992, the Quebec government announced a summit on the future of agricultural policies. Agricultural programs and technical support for farmers needed to change to address modern economic conditions. The consultation document for the summit identified the following issues:

• Slow growth in production
• Consolidation of agricultural businesses
• Concentration close to markets
• Depletion of public finances
• Sustainability requirements
• Capping and diversifying demand
• Globalization of trade

In line with broader movements of the times, the stakeholders from the agri-food chain attending this conference were mainly concerned with conquering international markets. The world had become a village—but its agriculture was increasingly precarious.

Birth of UPA DI

Feeding the world’s populations had become a strategic challenge of global proportions, and farming communities everywhere would benefit from helping each other. For this reason, the Union des producteurs agricoles created the not-for-profit organization UPA Développement international on January 8, 1993. Its mission was to promote the family farm as a model of sustainable agriculture by supporting democratic farmers’ organizations, collective marketing structures, and other initiatives to support family farming in developing countries.

Estates General on Rural Issues

As a wind of uncertainty blew through rural areas, the 1989 report Deux Québec dans un: Rapport sur le développement social et démographique (Two Quebecs in one: Report on social and demographic development) report from the Conseil des affaires sociales confirmed the critical situation—demographic, social, economic, and cultural—that was facing certain regions.

At the UPA’s invitation, nearly 1,200 stakeholders from all regions attended the États généraux du monde rural (Estates General on Rural Issues) in February 1991. At the end of this meeting, 30 representatives of provincial organizations (fishers, trade unionists, processors, industrialists, bankers, heads of private and public institutions, interest groups, professionals, consumers, etc.) signed the declaration on rural life. The declaration expressed signatories’ commitment to doing everything possible within their field to promote the implementation of a rural development model rooted in the community’s self-determination. Coming out of this, the Solidarité rurale du Québec coalition was launched.

Aliments du Québec: promoting local products

In 1996, the members of the Centre de promotion de l’industrie agricole et alimentaire du Québec (of which the UPA was a member) founded the not-for-profit organization Aliments du Québec to promote Quebec products. Two years later, at the Conférence sur l’agriculture et l’agroalimentaire québécois, agri-food industry stakeholders set an ambitious goal: to increase the share of Quebec products on the domestic market by 10% within five years. They would actively use the Aliments du Québec brand as a unique vehicle for promoting the local origin of their products.

Creation of La Financière agricole du Québec

In 1998, the Bouchard government made the agri-food sector one of its top priorities. It convened the Conférence sur l’agriculture et l’agroalimentaire québécois in order to set objectives in different areas (workforce and training, promotion of Quebec products and exports, sustainable development, and agri-environmental issues) to be achieved by 2005. The UPA proposed the creation of an organization responsible for managing all the financial tools for the agriculture sector. This organization would be administered by government representatives and agricultural producers. To implement this project, however, certain preconditions were necessary:

• Allocation of funding to this new organization by the federal government as part of a Canada-wide agreement on income security for farmers
• A predetermined budget extending over multiple years
• The tabling of a bill in the National Assembly to reform financial tools.

After years of preparations, the Financière agricole du Québec would begin operations on April 12, 2001.

Putting the environment first

In the 1990s and 2000s, environmental protection and food safety were in the spotlight. Quebec farmers voiced their support for sustainable agriculture that would balance short-term profitability, long-term productivity, consumer demands, and environmental protection. In 1994, the UPA adopted its first agri-environmental strategy, which aimed to protect resources and ensure the sustainable development of farming activities. Its aim was to:

• Ramp up engagement with partner organizations (MAPAQ, municipalities, environmental groups, etc.)
• Develop technical expertise to guide and support producers
• Raise awareness among producers
• Improve the public image of agriculture
• Advocate for conditions allowing farming businesses to develop and become profitable (realistic and enforceable regulations, adequate protection for farming activities).

This action strategy would lead to many achievements, including the development of a network of advisory clubs and the creation of the Institut de recherche et de développement en agroenvironnement.

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Collective marketing tools to the rescue

New collective tools developed by farmers made it possible to meet many contemporary challenges. Some production sectors published guides on good practices. Market gardeners and greenhouse growers established a research and innovation fund. Pork farmers produced a social responsibility report with indicators measuring farms’ progress in environmental, social, and economic areas. Canada’s dairy farmers created a certification program that set standards for quality, safety, animal welfare, traceability, biosecurity, and the environment.

Livestock tracing

In 2001, an identification and traceability system for agricultural products was developed and implemented by Agri-Traçabilité Québec (now Attestra). Cattle farmers were the first to implement the system in 2002, and sheep, deer, and pig producers later followed suit.

The way out of the income crisis

Between 2001 and 2002, farmers’ net income fell by a staggering 47%, a decline not seen since the Great Depression. On June 17, 2004, the UPA took the rare move of holding a special general congress with the theme of Marcher vers l’équité (Moving toward fairness). Its sole focus was the net income crisis. Delegates were asked to define short-, medium-, and long-term solutions. In preparation, 29 specialized affiliated groups of the UPA produced a portrait, made a diagnosis, and drew up an action plan that could help their members obtain fairer remuneration from the market.

Promoting the profession

To build a strong dialogue with the public, in August 2002 the UPA adopted an ambitious plan to promote agriculture and the farming profession. A series of awareness-raising and information activities were carried out to reach certain target audiences and the general public. A key part of the first campaign was making a large number of farms open for public visits. September 2003, 208 farms in Quebec welcomed 90,000 visitors, and the Grande fête agricole, held at the Maison de l’UPA in Longueuil, attracted nearly 15,000 people.

A new commission

In 2003, the Charest government’s state modernization plan, aimed at reducing both the size of the state and the support it provided, was cause for great concern. Despite this stated goal, in 2006 the government responded to calls from the agriculture sector to address the years-long income crisis it faced, by announcing a commission on the future of Quebec agriculture and agri-food (the Commission sur l’avenir de l’agriculture et de l’agroalimentaire québécois, or CAAAQ).

Unfortunately, the CAAAQ, in line with the Charest government’s economic vision prioritizing deregulation and free trade, called into question the tools that farming organizations had been advocating for in the previous decades. Furthermore, it framed any questioning of the commission’s direction as resistance to change.

No food without agriculture

In the years that followed the CAAAQ’s report (dubbed the Pronovost Report), a battle took place to defend farmers’ collective tools. Using the introduction of its new agricultural policy as a pretext, the government commissioned a series of studies on agricultural programs, the agricultural land preservation regime, farm property taxes, the management of La Financière agricole du Québec and collective marketing systems. Each time, the resulting recommendations involved cuts to the support programs for farmers or undermined the integrity of their collective tools.

In 2009, the UPA launched the wide-scale mobilization campaign Pas de nourriture sans agriculture (No food without agriculture), involving its regional federations and specialized groups as well as its local and specialized syndicates. For the next year, these various groups met with parliamentarians, organized demonstrations, circulated petitions, held press conferences, and established strong arguments backed up by data collected from farm businesses. Many of the UPA’s mobilization, representation, and communication activities during this period centred on promoting food sovereignty.

Water for life

In terms of sustainable development, the Plan d’action concerté sur l’environnement et la cohabitation harmonieuse (Joint action plan on agri-environment and harmonious cohabitation), launched in 2007, emphasized a new approach to collaboration between farmers and local stakeholders. The plan identified five issues: improving water quality, harmonious cohabitation, biodiversity, climate change and energy efficiency, and decreasing and rationalizing the use of pesticides. Various other programs and projects would be added over the years.

The UPA and the FAO sign a first cooperation agreement

On October 15, 2012, the UN acknowledged the work that the UPA had accomplished over the past twenty years in missions carried out by UPA DI. This recognition was reflected in a cooperation agreement between the UPA and the FAO to carry out joint actions to promote sustainable and structured family farming within professional organizations.

Controversial reports

In 2012, the election of the Marois government brought a brief pause in the farmers’ struggle. In 2014, the Liberal Party returned to power, and with the goal of consolidating public finances, introduced a series of austerity measures, including in education and healthcare. With respect to agriculture, the government once again commissioned a number of reports that would spark controversy:

• 1) the Robillard report, which recommended cutting the annual budget of La Financière agricole du Québec by $300 million;
• 2) the Gagné report, which argued for abolishing the sales agency and the quota system in the maple sector; and
• 3) the reform of the Farm Property Tax Credit Program. These reports were met with strong condemnation from farmers.

Three agreements leave a bitter taste

In federal matters, the fight to protect supply management mechanisms in the poultry, egg, and dairy sectors raged virtually continuously from 2009 to 2018, owing to the negotiation of three international trade agreements.¹ By the end of these negotiations, Quebec had lost significant market share—around 8.4% in the dairy sector—but the mobilization of producers and their determination to protect Quebec’s agricultural model had once again preserved farmers’ collective marketing tools.

The CAQ takes power

In 2018, François Legault’s new party, the Coalition avenir Québec, ousted the Liberals from power. The Legault government made clear from the outset its intention to finish rolling out the Politique bioalimentaire (Bio-Food Policy), which farmers had been waiting nearly 20 years to see materialize.

^{1: The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).}

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An unprecedented crisis

March 2020: the global COVID-19 health crisis revealed the fragility of the agri-food sector, particularly in terms of its reliance on foreign labour.

Eating local—now more than ever!

Responding to the uncertainty of the era, the UPA launched the Mangeons local, plus que jamais! (Eating local, now more than ever!) movement, along with an app, to encourage Quebecers to show their solidarity by buying directly from producers. Since the launch, the campaign tools have continued to evolve to encourage the public to support agriculture by consuming local products all year round.

The Quebec public, increasingly aware of its dependence on imports for certain foods products, has taken a growing interest in local food. In keeping with this development, the government wants to boost food self-sufficiency, which is estimated at 50% compared with 100% a century ago. The goal is to raise this to 60% through strategies like increased greenhouse production.

A return to the land is also taking place: for the first time since 1941, the number of farms in Quebec is increasing.

Harvest help

With the farm labour shortage exacerbated during the pandemic, the UPA and AGRIcarrières have called on people to work in the fields and help the farms that feed Quebec.

Dialogue on Quebec’s food autonomy

The concept of increasing our food autonomy is gaining ground. In August 2020, in collaboration with the Institut du Nouveau Monde, the UPA launched the Dialogue sur l’autonomie alimentaire du Québec (Dialogue on Quebec’s food autonomy). Producers and participating citizens agreed on a social contract with a set of recommendations to help Quebec boost its food self-sufficiency.

Find out more about the initiative

Land ownership and new farmers

As a result of speculation, land values in Quebec rose by an astonishing 322% between 2001 and 2023. This has resulted in limited access to property for new farmers: 50% of young farmers rent land rather than owning it. This situation is prompting the development of agricultural social utility trusts that will preserve the agricultural use of the land, keep it in the hands of the community and protect it from speculation.

Taking concrete action for the environment

Farmers are agri-environmental agents of change. However, the costs of adopting new farming practices are considerable. Support programs such as the Sustainable Agriculture Plan (Quebec), unveiled in October 2020, and Agricultural Climate Solutions (Canada), launched in August 2021, are helping to accelerate the ecological shift that we all want to see happen.

These programs help producers adopt sustainable practices and respond even better to society’s growing expectations for the agriculture sector. By compensating farmers for adopting environmental practices, making investments in research and development, and offering coaching, training and knowledge transfer opportunities, the programs reflect the proposals made by the UPA in its Plan vert agricole (Agricultural green plan) in 2018.

Supply-managed sectors threatened as borders open up

At the end of 2022, Ottawa announced that supply-managed sectors would be compensated to alleviate the impact of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). The news had been a long time coming: milk, egg, and poultry producers and processors had been waiting to find out the extent and terms of this federal support since 2018. Canada’s concessions under CUSMA were in addition to those agreed to under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (2018) and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) (2017). These three agreements, when fully implemented, represent a loss of $1.3 billion a year in sales for Canadian dairy producers alone.

Good news from Parliament In June 2023, a strong majority of MPs from all parties passed Bill C-282, which amended the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act. It prevents future concessions in supply-managed commodity sectors from being made in future trade negotiations. In other words, it makes it much more difficult for the Canadian government to sign agreements that jeopardize the supply management system.

Bill to amend the Agrologists Act

In the summer of 2022, the UPA condemned the bill to amend the Agrologists Act, which defines the field of practice of the profession and the professional activities exclusive to it (similar to various other professional acts).

Unlike its predecessor, however, this bill failed to create an exemption for actions taken by farmers, who would be obligated to rely on an agrologist to make basic decisions in their area of practice. The development also fails to take into account producers’ autonomy and professionalism.

Agriculture under pressure

In 2023, an already perfect storm intensified. In May, the UPA unveiled the results of an internal survey: 20% of farm businesses were already reporting poor or very poor financial health, and almost 50% anticipated that their situation would deteriorate. The UPA called on governments to take urgent action. An unprecedented conjuncture of economic, environmental, climatic, and social circumstances has left agriculture in an extremely vulnerable position. Existing programs are not adapted to the new normal.

The UPA is working hard to obtain the support needed to ensure the future of our agriculture and to protect our food supply. It is increasing the representations it makes to leaders and governments. More than ever before, the need for an organization to promote and defend farmers’ rights is undeniable.