The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, has announced details of two new programs designed to help drive innovation and market development for Canada’s 4,800 chicken, turkey and egg farmers. These programs, totaling more than $691 million over ten years, respond directly to requests from producer associations and provide full and fair compensation for market impacts from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

When discussing the policy, Minister Bibeau said, "the Government is delivering on our commitment to compensate our supply-managed farmers for losses from recent trade agreements. These investments will help ensure continued growth and prosperity for our poultry and egg farmers, who help keep Canada’s rural communities strong and vibrant. We have worked hand-in-hand with industry to ensure they have the full and fair support they need to continue to keep our family farms thriving and our grocery shelves full of good Canadian products.”

The Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program will provide close to $630 million over ten years to support poultry and egg farmers through on-farm investments. Producers will be entitled to an amount proportional to their quota holdings. Eligible projects are anything that helps a producer modernize, become more competitive and adapt to changing consumer preferences. This includes new barn construction or upgrading equipment like feeding, watering, lighting, ventilation, heating, and comfort systems that will promote energy efficiency and reduce environmental footprint. The Government of Canada will contribute up to 70% of the project cost, a ratio increasing to up to 85% for young farmers to help ensure a strong future for Canada’s farms. The intake of applications for this program will launch later this spring.

Funding will be distributed starting in 2021-22, and will be allocated as follows:

• $347.3 million for chicken producers
• $59.6 million for turkey producers
• $134 million for egg producers
• $88.6 million for broiler hatching egg producers

The Market Development Program for Turkey and Chicken will provide $36.5 million for the Turkey Farmers of Canada and $25 million for the Chicken Farmers of Canada over ten years. This funding will help promotional activities that differentiate Canadian-made products’ reputation for high-quality, safe and sustainably farmed food that adheres to strict animal welfare standards. Funding will be distributed to the national industry organizations, who will submit a multi-year strategy to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for approval. The intake for applications from these organizations launches 13 April 2021.

Quick facts

• The four supply-managed poultry and egg sectors (chicken, broiler hatching eggs, turkey, and eggs) generated $4.9 billion in farm cash receipts in 2020, 6.8% of all farm cash receipts in Canada. According to industry, Canada's poultry and egg sector supports more than 140,000 direct and indirect jobs.
• The Government of Canada remains committed to engaging the sector on full and fair compensation for the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
• As producers and processors depend on each other to be successful, the Government of Canada also remains committed to addressing the impacts of recent trade agreements on processors.

Click here for additional background analysis from the Department of Agriculture and Agri-food.