Richard Lee, executive director of Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG), said the organization is taking a strategic, multi-level approach to prepare for the upcoming CUSMA negotiations. This includes co-ordinated government relations at the provincial and federal levels to reinforce the importance of stable trade frameworks for greenhouse vegetable producers.

Lee said OGVG is also actively engaging with U.S. partners to ensure the industry’s priorities are well understood and aligned across the border.

WHY IT MATTERS: Diversifying Ontario’s ag export markets is one thing, but its fresh perishables can only be exported so far.

He noted that, with a population one-10th the size of the U.S., Canada cannot consume the volume grown in Ontario alone.

“This partnership is integral, and uninterrupted access to the U.S. market remains essential for Canada,” he said.

Lee said this was evident in March 2025, when blanket tariffs were applied to all U.S.-bound imports.

“During that period, Ontario growers paid more than $7 million in tariffs to ensure our produce continued reaching consumers,” he said. “As importers of record, our members are fully responsible for tariff remission and the required bonding, which adds further financial strain on the integrated North American trading bloc and ultimately leads to further trade disruptions.”

Despite these pressures, Lee said OGVG members responded proactively. Through early discussions with retail partners, many agreed to absorb most, if not all, of the tariff costs to maintain stable food supplies for U.S. consumers.

To manage the risk around the agreement, Lee said OGVG has participated in federally sponsored trade missions to explore potential markets in the Indo-Pacific region.

“While these opportunities hold promise, expanding beyond North America remains challenging due to the perishability of our products and the high transportation costs required to maintain freshness, integrity and quality during long-distance transit,” he said.

In the past, a pilot project to ship a pallet of long English cucumbers to Hong Kong, conducted 10 years ago, cost approximately $10,000. Lee said this demonstrated that the logistics required to reach markets such as China remain prohibitively expensive, making large-scale expansion into these regions unfeasible.

Currently, Ontario’s greenhouse sector benefits from access to 58 per cent of the U.S. population within a one-day drive. Lee said this proximity enables producers to maintain product quality far more reliably than longer-haul transportation options such as air or rail, each of which presents operational challenges.

He said investments in agriculture and food production, combined with fair and free trade, offer significant economic opportunities for Canadian businesses.

As a safeguard should negotiations stall, Lee said OGVG will continue to evaluate alternative support mechanisms that could help offset volatility or disruptions.

He said business risk management programs require modernization to reflect today’s greenhouse production realities and to scale appropriately with the significant investments made by growers.

Lee is also calling for the removal of phytosanitary restrictions and regulatory barriers that currently limit diversification opportunities. Addressing these long-standing impediments, he said, could help identify additional markets that may become economically viable, particularly if transportation and compliance costs decline.

U.S. buyers continue to move Canadian produce

Marcus Janzen, president of Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC), is a fourth-generation greenhouse pepper farmer. His family’s Calis Arms Ltd. farm is located in Abbotsford, B.C.

Janzen said the impact of last year’s tariff announcements did not have the effect some experts predicted.

As potential changes to CUSMA loom, he said diversification may be impractical due to perishability and freight costs.

Unlike many Ontario growers, Janzen noted about half of his produce is exported to the U.S. while the remainder is sold in Canada.

“Last year, we really didn’t feel the border thicken in any meaningful way, and the U.S. customers we have long-standing relationships with continue to want Canadian production,” he said.

He noted the U.S. administration is keenly aware of the impact of high grocery prices linked to tariffs, adding he would be surprised if policies were introduced that further increased costs, particularly for perishable food.

Janzen also pushed back against claims that the U.S. does not need Canada.

“I guess it depends on how well you want the American citizen to be able to eat,” he said.

Janzen noted Canada has strengthened its relationship with Mexico on potato exports. Canada accounted for 34 per cent of Mexico’s frozen potato imports in 2024, ranking second only to the United States, according to Province of Manitoba data. Manitoba is a leading Canadian exporter of potatoes to Mexico, accounting for 82 per cent of Western Canada’s prepared potato exports to the country in 2024.

These are the kinds of relationships that must continue to be nurtured, Janzen said. He recommended farmers focus on what they can control, including production costs.

He added it’s also important to set aside political differences to move forward.

“It’s important to differentiate between your views on the U.S. administration and the mainstream American citizen,” he said.

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That’s according to a recent Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) research project to refine and apply technologies used in other industries to greenhouses to test their effectiveness at inhibiting virus transmission. The project included three approaches developed by service provider PRODIGie — Innovation Evolved Inc.

Why it matters: The anti-viral technologies are not chemical-based and offer a solution to the spread of viruses with the added benefit of not requiring lengthy regulatory approvals. They could offer a solution for preventing the spread of the tomato brown rugose fruit virus.

Ontario’s greenhouse vegetable growers have been dealing with tomato brown rugose fruit virus, which was first detected here in 2019. It causes distortion of leaves and brown, wrinkly spots on the fruit, making them unmarketable.

The virus can survive for long periods on surfaces away from tomato plants and can be easily picked up by people, tools and equipment, which increases the chance of infection and spread through the greenhouse.

COVID-19 has been a threat to human health, food security and business continuity since it emerged on the global stage early in 2020.

With both pathogens, time was of the essence to minimize spread and impact. Funding from the Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative helped OGVG test various anti-viral technologies as possible tools to control pathogen spread.

“The rugose virus appeared almost in tandem with COVID-19 and commonly used disinfection tools like rubbing alcohol, for example, don’t work on either of these viruses,” says Niki Bennett, OGVG’s lead for innovation, adaptation and plant protection.

“Biosecurity is about keeping things out and preventing transmission and this project gave us a unique opportunity to go after both pathogens.”

Cold-spray coatings

The first anti-viral technology tested, novel composite cold spray coatings, can be applied to static objects like door handles and other high touch areas. According to Bennett, it performs like a barrier to prevent microbial adhesion and provides some antimicrobial activity.

Since it’s not a chemical and not being applied to plants, it does not have to go through a regulatory process to be approved for sale.

The studies showed up to a 97 per cent reduction in rugose virus on surfaces where the cold spray coatings were applied. This was a 10-fold increase in effectiveness compared to current copper benchmarks.

“We don’t know of anyone doing this; that’s what sparked our interest in this solution,” Bennett says. “It’s a barrier method that provides passive, preventative protection.”

Hand cleaners

The second technology evaluated was a non-alcohol, oil-based hand rub with antimicrobial properties. It can inactivate pathogens on the hands and also does not need regulatory approval since it is considered a personal care product.

Many greenhouse workers now use nitrile gloves to minimize risk of rugose virus spread, but it could still adhere to gloves so it is critical to change them often. The hand rub has potential to provide longer protection and reduce overall spread by workers hands.

Ozone oxidizers

The third solution tested was an ozone treatment containing powerful oxidizers that can kill micro-organisms or inactivate viruses when applied to surfaces. There was a 98 per cent reduction in rugose virus after three minutes of contact with aqueous ozone. That is a shorter contact time than what is necessary for many commercially available disinfectants.

Work is still underway to determine the best and most critical uses for this product.

All three solutions, which can be used together or separately, may be adopted by the industry, notes Bennett. The next step is determining how they can be best commercialized. There is initial interest by growers, but trials are needed to validate that interest.

“We have some pretty unique techniques here that we haven’t seen anyone else using in the greenhouse industry — and they could help us with future issues too, not just the issues of today like COVID and rugose,” she says.

“They challenge the traditional way of addressing viral and bacterial issues, which is usually reactive, and move us into the proactive and preventative space. That’s where the cost savings are, in reducing disease transmission and keeping people and plants healthy.”

For the vegetable growers, the ultimate goal is to make the sector more resilient to pathogen threats to its workforce and its crops and keep growers competitive and productive.

According to Bennett, that will mean changing crop protection strategies from reactive to proactive and seeking solutions that are effective but don’t require lengthy regulatory approval processes.

This project was supported through the Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative, a cost-share program funded by the Ontario government and delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

“The GCII funding was incredibly important and a really unique opportunity for us because the funding focused on plant health and COVID-19,” adds Bennett.

“It’s not often that you can access both and have benefits to both, and it makes it much easier to look for solutions knowing that funding is available to help.”

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Postponed from its original date in 2020, the anticipated event was the first opportunity to meet and discuss ToBRFV, which threatens tomato plants on a global basis. It offered a unique ability to share research, ongoing management, future potential and mitigation opportunities through many ongoing projects.

Discussions are continuing after the event to develop best practices that coordinate biosecurity approaches and responsibilities throughout the supply chain.

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The research also involves testing Walker’s composting process to determine whether it can successfully inactivate certain viruses like the Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV). 

Stonewool (also referred to as rockwool) is one of the main substrates used by greenhouse vegetable growers in Canada to grow their crops. A mineral-based product spun into wool and enclosed in plastic, it provides structure for the roots of plants grown hydroponically. 

Once used, most stonewool “slabs” currently end up in landfill, as do traditionally compostable materials like pepper and tomato vines to prevent the spread of ToBRFV. 

The research team is conducting trials to separate the plastic that surrounds the stonewool slabs and process the remaining material into a clean and usable product that is free of plastic contamination. The processed stonewool is then composted in Walker’s static aerated composting system. Prior to placement in the compost row, the infected material is secured in a specifically formulated vessel that allows the heat and air to pass through but prevents the stonewool from coming into contact with the other material in the compost row. 

After the compost process is completed, a bioassay is used to determine if composting was effective in deactivating the virus. Samples of tomato tissue from the bioassay are sent to a testing lab to detect for the presence or absence of the virus. 

Results are positive so far, and researchers are waiting on lab results from the bioassay tissue samples, and hope to have the project wrapped up with final results by this fall. 

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