Frederic Serre
The Advocate
With an eye to putting Canada’s pork producers in a better position to bolster exports, the Canadian Pork Council has joined the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
“Trade is vital to the success of Canadian agriculture, and by working together through the CFA, we can better advocate for strong trade frameworks that support farmers and rural communities across the country,” said René Roy chair of the CPC council.
“As a national organization representing pork producers from nine provinces, it’s important for us to be part of a collective voice that speaks for Canadian agriculture as a whole,” Roy added. “We believe in the value of unity across sectors and see this membership as an opportunity to strengthen collaboration and ensure pork producers are well represented on the national stage.”
The pork council, which represents 7,000 pork producing farms across the country that supports more than 100,000 jobs, formally joined the CFA last month. The CFA, which is the national voice for more than 190,000 Canadian farmers and families, made the announcement in Ottawa on July 17.
“We are so pleased to welcome the Canadian Pork Council as a member of the CFA,” said CFA president Keith Currie. “As Canada’s largest general farm organization, the CFA brings farm leaders from across the provinces, territories, and a diverse mix of commodity groups to drive Canadian agriculture forward by fostering and strong and united voice.”
The CPC exports 70 per cent of its production to markets around the world, with more than $5 billion in global exports annually.
The CPC and CFA are no strangers to collaboration. According to Currie, both organizations have worked closely on issues facing Canadian farmers for many years. He said formalizing this membership now strengthens the relationship and “deepens our joint advocacy efforts while enabling a more cohesive national representation on pressing issues that affect producers from coast to coast to coast.”
“With the CPC at the table, our unified national voice grows even stronger, particularly when engaging with the federal government on complex issues like sustainability, labour, animal health and emergency preparedness, trade and competitiveness,” Currie said. “It’s critical that our industry work together to advance common solutions and this announcement takes us one step further.”
Currie said the CFA remains committed to building a resilient, competitive and sustainable agriculture sector in Canada and that “welcoming the Canadian Pork Council reinforces this mission and ensures the sector is more connected and prepared to address both challenges and opportunities ahead.”