Glacier FarmMedia—Agriculture groups across Canada are congratulating Heath MacDonald on his new role as federal agriculture minister.
It was announced that MacDonald would inherit the role at the first post-election cabinet shuffle under prime minister Mark Carney May 13.
Macdonald represents the riding of Malpeque in Prince Edward Island, just west of Cardigan, the riding previously held by former agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay. MacDonald has previously served on the House of Commons agriculture committee.
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Provincially, he served as finance minister in P.E.I.
Before getting involved in politics, he worked in the province’s tourism sector.
Industry urges immediate action
In a written statement, Grain Growers of Canada welcomed incoming members of cabinet, including MacDonald, while also urging “immediate action to support grain farmers and protect the viability of the sector.”
Executive director Kyle Larkin said GGC has worked productively with McDonald in the past.
“We’ve had conversations on a number of different topics, be they carbon taxation or capital gains tax, or even ag research,” Larkin said.
“He’s always been someone who comes to the table or brings the perspective of that finance business background.”
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture welcomed MacDonald specifically in its own written statement released shortly after the cabinet shuffle, saying it is eager to work with him.
“We look forward to a productive relationship with minister MacDonald. Canadian agriculture is a critical juncture, with the recent dramatic rise of trade uncertainty, while combatting high costs and more frequent extreme weather events” CFA president Keith Currie, said in the statement.
“During the recent election, CFA has made the priorities of Canadian farmers very clear. Farmers need to see a focus on competitiveness, resiliency and maintaining rule-based trade.”
The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance likewise expressed its intent to work with MacDonald in the future.
Make food security a priority
Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada executive director Massimo Bergamini said in a written statement that the organization looks forward to working with MacDonald and the new cabinet on shared goals for the sector.
“Fresh, quality and nutritious fruit and vegetables don’t grow themselves — policies that support growers are as important as soil, water and sun,” said Bergamini.
“The federal government must act quickly to deliver modern business risk management and mitigation programs, predictable access to labour, effective and safe crop protection tools, investment in greenhouse agriculture and trade policy that reflects the realities of a perishable, seasonal sector.
“With one in five households struggling with food security and visits to food banks at an all-time high, the government’s election commitment to making food security a priority in this new Parliament is one Canada’s fruit and vegetable growers can get behind.… We stand ready to work with agriculture minister MacDonald and all parliamentarians on this shared priority.”
Minister should get to know rest of country
MacDonald is the third straight agriculture minister from Atlantic Canada and the second of those three from P.E.I, meaning regional representation could still be a problem. Larkin said MacDonald should undertake early efforts to better understand farming across the country.
“When Parliament rises at the end of June, I would very much recommend that he goes on a tour across Canada to meet with producers in every single province, to understand the issues that they’re facing.”
“Farming in Saskatchewan on a 5,000-acre farm is certainly different than farming on a farm in Ontario that may only be 400 acres — different crops, different soil conditions, different weather patterns,” Larkin said.
“I very much recommend he gets out there to meet with as many producers as possible across the country so that he can come back in the fall with a full perspective of all the issues.”
In the West, the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan said in a statement it is “particularly pleased to welcome the honourable Heath MacDonald as Canada’s new minister of agriculture and agri-food and is eager to work collaboratively on advancing policies that support Saskatchewan producers and enhance the national agricultural sector.”
Grain Farmers of Ontario said it “looks forward to continuing its work with the federal government to ensure a policy environment that enhances the sector’s global competitiveness.”
The organization also thanked outgoing minister Kody Blois, who briefly held the role starting March 2025.
Blois departure a surprise
Blois’s departure may have been a surprise to much of the agriculture world, where many farmers and commodity groups previously expressed their support for him.
Agri-Food Innovation Council chief executive officer Serge Buy also said he thought Blois was “extremely qualified and competent for the role.”
Larkin said it came as a surprise to see Blois not returning to the file.
“He has and had a very good reputation, not only with groups in Ottawa, but actually producers across the country, farmers I’ve spoken to, be they in the Prairies or be they out east.”
Still, he said there was reason to hope for positive changes under MacDonald, though it may take time for him to win the trust of producers.
“Many of the producers that we represent don’t know who Heath McDonald is,” he said.
“But I think he does have the next few months to build his profile with the sector and meet with as many producers as possible. And that’s why I think it’s important for him to get out this summer to really connect with folks.”
Larkin said the two quick policy changes he hopes to see MacDonald push for are a formal reversal of the capital gains tax changes and a permanent removal of the carbon tax for on-farm activities.
