Opinion
By Tyler McCann, managing director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, on the eve of a new cabinet
The arrival of a new Minister of Agriculture in a new government with a new mandate creates a new opportunity for Canadian agriculture. Like other resource sectors over the last decade, agriculture has struggled to address its challenges and capitalize on its opportunities, partly due to a challenging relationship with the federal government. The new minister has a chance to reset the relationship and help drive the sector forward.
Much of the attention will be on what the minister does, but how the minister does it will have a significant influence on the impact the minister has. Here are five key considerations the minister must keep in mind to maximize the impact of their time as Minister of Agriculture.
Focus
The Trudeau government struggled to deliver results in agriculture and across government. While there is a long list of reasons why, a fundamental one was that it tried to do too much and was left to achieve little.
Success comes through a much more focused agenda. Five priorities should be established and communicated, leaving no doubt within the cabinet, the department, and among stakeholders about what the minister will work on.
There will always be calls to do more, but they are a trap. The minister needs to put his resources into achieving their priorities, or risk failing to accomplish the long list of priorities from others.
Ambition
Being focused does not mean being incremental. Agriculture faces significant challenges, and there is a need for generational change in agriculture policy. Regardless of whether it is small or big, change takes political capital. So, if the minister is going to make change happen, he should make that change worthwhile.
Advice from the department and conflicting perspectives from stakeholders are some of the reasons ministers tend towards incremental change. However, if the minister wants to have an impact, they need to think big. The minister needs to set out an aggressive and ambitious agenda for their short list of priorities.
Relationship Building
The minister cannot be impactful on their own. They need the support of the Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues. Job number one is to build the trust of the Prime Minister. Job number two is to keep that trust.
The minister also requires the support of their cabinet colleagues, as many of the issues affecting the sector fall within their purview. To effectively address these matters, the minister needs to maintain strong relationships with their counterparts in Health, Trade, Transport, and Finance.
Finally, the minister needs strong partnerships with their provincial counterparts. The negotiations for the next five-year policy framework will only deliver the change Canadian agriculture needs if the Federal and Provincial Ministers can agree on what that change is. The Federal Minister will have to work hard to bridge differences across the country, but the potential impact is incredible.
Empowerment and Accountability
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is full of smart, capable individuals. However, the department, like much of the rest of the government, has struggled to deliver meaningful policy advice and effectively administer programs. That needs to change.
The Prime Minister has clearly articulated his commitment to reforming the way the government works, and the Agriculture Minister can play a crucial role in achieving better results from the department. This includes empowering officials to provide their best advice while also holding them accountable for their work in implementing the government’s agenda.
A more focused and ambitious agenda may require fewer people to deliver it, and an adjustment may challenge the department. The minister needs to ensure that changes in the size and shape of the department empower the best and brightest, providing them with the necessary tools and structures to succeed.
Engagement
Agriculture is a diverse sector with significant regional and value chain differences. It is also a sector with a lot of associations and high demands on the government. Bridging the gap between what associations are requesting and what the government can deliver, or between the diverse perspectives across businesses and associations, can be challenging.
A crucial step is to look beyond the solutions being advocated and gain a deeper understanding of the problems they aim to address.
This means that the minister needs to be able to rely on the staff in both the office and in the department. To achieve this, they require a team that can understand the details of the problems, devise creative solutions, and then build support for them within the sector.
Being Agriculture Minister is one of the best jobs in the country, but you only get out of the job what you put into it. These five things will help the minister make the most of their time and should help deliver the generational change in policy that Canadian agriculture desperately needs.