Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeNewsEconomyCarney launches food security plan to lower prices, cut importsStrategy earmarks $3.2 billion to increase competition in the grocery sector and process more food domesticallyAuthor of the article:Last updated 45 minutes ago You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.A customer checks out at a discount grocery store in Brampton, Ont. The cost of groceries has become a political liability in Canada, following years of rapidly rising prices. Photo by Peter J Thompson/National PostPrime Minister Mark Carney’s government rolled out a plan to address food security and affordability as the high cost of groceries continues to be a major pain point for Canadian consumers.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThe strategy released Thursday earmarks $3.2 billion over 10 years to increase competition in the grocery sector, process more food domestically and grow the country’s capacity to produce fruits and vegetables year-round. The plan includes new spending as well as redirected funds.The plan represents an attempt by Carney’s government to respond to food inflation concerns and concentration in the grocery market. The cost of groceries has become a political liability in Canada, following years of rapidly rising prices.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againIt also marks another example of Carney’s ongoing effort to concentrate essential supply chains in Canada rather than having them cross the southern border, insulating Canadian consumers from the whims of the Trump administration and its tariff policies.“A country that can’t feed itself or fuel itself or defend itself isn’t truly sovereign. It’s vulnerable to global shocks. It’s vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. It’s vulnerable to tariffs,” Carney said in a news conference on Thursday. “So to protect our sovereignty and truly take control of our future, we have to take control of our food system.”Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has hammered the Liberal governments of both Justin Trudeau and Carney over rising food prices, while the left-leaning New Democratic Party has been calling for public grocery stores and a crackdown on surveillance pricing.Grocery prices in April were up 3.8 per cent from a year ago and 31 per cent higher than in April 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic first began.Carney’s strategy includes a $1 billion agri-food project finance fund to help small and medium-sized food processors expand, in an effort to process more food closer to where it’s grown in Canada.“We grow things here, sell them to other countries who process them, then buy them back as final products,” the government said in its strategy outline. “This means higher prices for Canadians while creating jobs elsewhere.”It also earmarks $1 billion for food infrastructure, including food terminals and hubs, which the government says it will help independent grocers compete and give consumers the opportunity to buy directly from wholesalers and farmers.The government says it also wants to reduce the country’s dependence on imported crops, setting aside $750 million for controlled environment agriculture to increase year-round production of fruits and vegetables in Canada.Building on its recent pledge to tackle surveillance pricing, the Carney government says it will modernize the law to ensure Canadians’ personal information is used “responsibly and transparently.”The government has set out key performance indicators for its plan, including beginning the construction of two new food terminals by the end of 2028 and increasing the proportion of local food sales by small and mid-sized producers by 25 per cent by 2030.It also wants the country’s competition watchdog — which will see it funding grow — to increase the number of investigations it opens per year by 10 per cent, “resulting in close to $450 million per year in consumer savings,” the government said in the document.— With assistance from Mario Baker Ramirez. 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