Program directory · Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Food Policy Initiatives
- Department
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Program code
- BWN09 (AGR)
- Core responsibility
- Domestic and International Markets
- In Departmental Plans
- 2020-21 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The set of programs included as part of the Food Policy Initiatives will help to achieve the short-term goals and long-term objectives of the Food Policy for Canada. Overall the Food Policy for Canada has as a vision that: “All people in Canada are able to access a sufficient amount of safe, nutritious and culturally diverse food. Canada’s food system is resilient and innovative, sustains our environment, and supports our economy”.
The Local Food Infrastructure Fund supports the purchase and installation of infrastructure that enables the implementation of community food security initiatives that increase the availability and accessibility of local, nutritious, culturally-appropriate food in communities, with a focus on Indigenous and Black communities, as well as other equity-deserving groups.
As a complement to the National School Food Program, the School Food Infrastructure Fund supports the purchase and installation of infrastructure that increases the capacity of community organizations to expand their reach and impact of school food programming that in turn increases the availability and accessibility of local, nutritious, culturally-appropriate food in communities, with a focus on equity-deserving groups.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2019-20. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food Policy Initiatives | This program | 2019-20 – 2028-29 | $458M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Spending $206M, against $26.6M in 2019-20 (+675%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Spending $27.7M, against $157M in 2021-22 (−82%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators added: Number of activities that increase appreciation and pride in the contributions of farmers and the food industry, and enhance public trust. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Spending $9.1M, against $32.6M in 2023-24 (−72%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Indicators added: Number of infrastructure investments that support school food programs | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Indicators dropped: Number of activities that increase appreciation and pride in the contributions of farmers and the food industry, and enhance public trust.; Number of applications received per challenge issued. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Planned spending $21.3M, against $9.1M in 2024-25 (+135%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2027-28 | Planned spending $0, against $20.5M in 2026-27 (−100%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | — | 2021 | 493 The target for this program is cumulative over the lifetime of the program. This is the second year of reporting. | No result reported |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 1,630 | 2024 | 1,112 The actual results achieved through the program were less than those planned, as individual investments of the last few intakes of the program were higher than the initial ones. This was to ensure adequate funding was provided to recipients to meet their project's objectives as well as to take into account the increased costs of goods and services. | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 1,630 | 2025 | 1,199 "The actual results achieved through the initial program streams were less than those planned, as individual investments of the last few intakes of the program were higher than the initial ones. This was to ensure adequate funding was provided to recipients to meet their project's objectives as well as to take into account the increased costs of goods and services. " | Not met |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | — | 2024 | — Due to the timing for GC InfoBase updates and the shorter nature of the AgriCommunication Program a target was unable to be set. The program has since sunset as of March 31, 2024. However, the Program helped recipients to develop 137 tools, host 215 events, and distribute over 103,000 information products. Project activities also received over 415,000 attendees. | No result reported |
| 2024-25 | — | 2025 | — New indicator - target will be developed based on the first full year of program data. | No result reported |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | — | — | 343 One challenge was issued with 4 different streams. 343 applications were received for the first two streams. The results for remaining two streams will be available in 2021-2022. | No result reported |
| 2022-23 | — | — | 581 Target was not set at the time of establishing the 2022-23 Departmental Plan but will be reported on in future years. One challenge was issued with 4 different streams. 343 applications were received under the two Business Models Streams. 238 applications were received under the two Novel Technologies Streams. | No result reported |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 500 | 2024 | 581 | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 500 | 2025 | 581 | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 10 | 2027 | — | Planned |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Number of small infrastructure investments ($0 - $100,000) Target - 250; Number of large infrastructure investments ($150,000 - $500, 000) Target - 50 | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | — | $26.6M |
| 2020-21 | $19.7M | $206M |
| 2021-22 | $23.4M | $157M |
| 2022-23 | $27.8M | $27.7M |
| 2023-24 | $28.6M | $32.6M |
| 2024-25 | $0 | $9.1M |
| 2025-26 | $21.3M | — |
| 2026-27 | $20.5M | — |
| 2027-28 | $0* | — |
| 2028-29 | $0* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | — | 6 |
| 2020-21 | 19 | 24 |
| 2021-22 | 21 | 31 |
| 2022-23 | 30 | 32 |
| 2023-24 | 31 | 31 |
| 2024-25 | 0 | 29 |
| 2025-26 | 25 | — |
| 2026-27 | 24 | — |
| 2027-28 | 0* | — |
| 2028-29 | 0* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 plan | $19,711,665 | $23,352,710 | $27,017,653 | ||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $23,352,710 | $27,017,653 | $25,549,266 | ||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $27,821,211 | $25,552,554 | $0 | ||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $28,555,841 | $0 | $0 | ||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $21,322,247 | $20,804,037 | $0 | ||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $20,535,948 | $0 | $0 | ||||||
| Actual | $205,754,040 | $156,531,542 | $27,675,965 | $32,610,316 | $9,081,517 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
