Canada’s new Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food acknowledges he has a steep learning curve ahead after being sworn in with the rest of Mark Carney’s cabinet on May 13th. But he’s ready to make at least two commitments: to get his boots on the ground on farms across the country and to make sure his cabinet colleagues understand the economic value of agriculture.
Heath MacDonald transparently admits to RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney in the interview below that he did not aspire to become ag minister, but he says he understands the importance of agriculture, coming from a rural farming community in Prince Edward Island. His mother’s side of the family still farms, and while MacDonald’s background is in tourism and IT, he also brings experience from serving as PEI’s finance minister from 2018 to 2021.
“I’ve got lots to learn, without a doubt, and I’ll learn each and every day. But boots on the ground, I think that’s the most important thing, to develop those relationships and get to those farms across the country as soon as possible,” says MacDonald.
That includes building relationships with provincial ag ministers, who he’s been connecting with during his first few days on the job.
“First and foremost, it’s reaching out to my counterparts across the country and understand the regionality and the differences that we have to pay attention to making agriculture and agri-food a priority at the cabinet table,” he says. “We need to ensure that all my counterparts around the cabinet table understand the contribution that farmers make to not only feeding the country, and countries, but the economic value. And I think sometimes that gets lost in the conversation.” (article continues below)
MacDonald has also started meeting with stakeholders on major files. On the matter of China’s tariffs on Canadian agricultural exports, he says he’s spoken with the Canola Council of Canada and an expert in China, and has a meeting with Canada’s ambassador to China planned for next week.
U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins’ office has also been in touch about arranging an in-person meeting.
“Building that relationship and understanding one another’s needs, even through all the tentacles of politics, it’s important to have that relationship going forward,” says MacDonald.
When asked about specific policy files, such as the changes to AgriStability that were proposed prior to the election, or whether he plans to host G7 ag ministers in conjunction with the upcoming G7 leaders’ summit in Alberta, MacDonald defers, saying he’s “knee deep in this stuff right now.”
So what can Canadian farmers and agriculture stakeholders expect from him?
“I don’t take no lightly, and my will is to find a way — let’s find a way and to make farming as good as it can be, especially in these difficult times. But what you see is what you get. I’m not going to change. I’m going to be a dog with a bone, and we’ll see where it takes me.”
Related: Blois out, as Carney taps Heath MacDonald of PEI to serve as ag minister
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