CropLife Canada response to the 2025 federal budget

CropLife Canada is pleased to see the Government of Canada’s focus on driving economic growth in the 2025 federal budget. While the budget made several mentions of the importance of the agriculture and food industry, we are calling on the government to further raise the profile of the sector as a key strategic priority for Canada and to take the necessary actions to unleash its full potential.

The Budget identified some potentially significant action to streamline the Pest Management Agency’s (PMRA) regulatory processes, however, it remains to be seen whether the proposed change will in fact result in meaningful outcomes that improve competitiveness and productivity.

CropLife Canada has been calling on the Government of Canada to enact bold action to improve the timeliness and predictability of the regulatory systems for plant breeding innovations and pest control products. Both have become mired in red tape that disincentivizes investment in Canada and keeps critical tools out of the hands of Canadian farmers while their competitors get access.

In the Budget, the government proposes “to amend legislation to remove cyclical pesticide re-evaluations to enable modern, risk-based oversight.” Moving towards a modern, risk-based approach to the post-market review of pesticides, which continues to prioritize health and safety while streamlining the process, could deliver significant benefits in terms of improving predictability, timeliness and making Canadian farmers more competitive.

However, previous efforts to reform the PMRA have lacked ambition and failed to deliver meaningful outcomes. In a period of fledgling productivity in Canada and ongoing threats to our competitiveness, now is the time for the government to demonstrate its commitment to big-picture thinking when it comes to regulatory reform, which will require meaningful engagement with industry.

In an era where the government is looking to spend less and invest more, CropLife Canada is recommending a series of no-cost measures that will help unleash the full potential of the agriculture industry and drive economic growth for Canada, including:

• Put food security and affordability at the forefront – update the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) mandates to weigh economic impacts alongside health and safety.

• Institute cutting-edge regulatory practices – leverage reviews and best regulatory practices from trusted, risk-based jurisdictions.

• Set and meet clear regulatory approval timelines – require the PMRA to meet 100% of its performance targets to make Canada a top destination for innovation and investment.

• Cut red tape – eliminate bureaucratic processes at the CFIA and PMRA that do nothing to protect health and safety and focus scientific resources on getting new tools to farmers faster.

The plant science industry stands at the ready to work with the government to help Canada grow strong for the benefit of all Canadians.