Job cuts at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency raise food safety concerns

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is closing seven of its 20 research operations across Canada as the federal government looks to eliminate public service jobs.

Research centres in Guelph, Ont., Quebec City, Que., and Lacombe, Alta., are set to close, as are satellite research farms in Scott and Indian Head, Sask., Portage La Praire, Man., and Nappan, N.S.

Approximately 665 department positions have been reduced and 1,050 employees reportedly received notice of job cuts.

The department noted that the site closures are not imminent and could take up to 12 months.

The centres in Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia were established in 1887 and have been responsible for significant agricultural discoveries in crop production, sustainability, and food safety. They also support the Canadian fresh meat processing sector.

Researchers at these facilities assist farmers and Canadian agriculture by conducting research, helping cost competitiveness, fighting the effects of climate change and enforcing Canada’s high food safety standards.

The cuts will also impact a SaskOrganics research program in Swift Current that focuses on regenerative practices and seed varieties.

“These cuts will sabotage important gains we’ve made in agricultural research and set research on Canadian food products back by decades,” said Milton Dyck, national president of the Agriculture Union. “We have been warning the federal government for months about cutting an already-decimated department. There is simply no more room to cut.”

The Quebec centre focuses on how cold and humid climates impact agriculture, among other subjects.

AAFC’s Guelph plant is responsible for research and development of food safety and value-added food attributes.

Recent publications include research into gut health and the impacts of probiotic bacteria on inflammation and immune responses.

“Many of the innovations that were trialed at Guelph Food Research Centre have broad benefits to all the industry, such as energy efficient pasteurization methods, and novel antimicrobial interventions using phage technologies and bioactive materials. The challenge is not the innovation, it’s the strategic partnerships, regulatory approvals, technology transfer and adoption that has been limiting,” Amy Proulx, professor and academic program coordinator of Culinary Innovation and Food Technology at Niagara College told Food in Canada.

The Guelph plant is unique as it contains a pilot-scale, food research facility to ‘test new and existing food processing technologies.’

The Agriculture Union notes staffing at AAFC has decreased 14 per cent between 2012 and 2025.

Dyck and Keith Currie, the president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, are among many food sector executives who are urging the federal government to pause the cuts and shutdown of essential programs.

“Our safety standards in Canada are very well established and backed with decades of evidence-based solutions. These current cuts will impact our ability to create innovative new solutions that reduce hazards in food while maintaining high quality products,” said Proulx.

Cuts at CFIA

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is also eliminating 1,371 jobs as part of the same government cost-saving measures.

CFIA conducts inspections on Canada’s food supply, plants and animals while enforcing food safety standards, identifying health risks, and regulating agricultural inputs, among other duties.

The Agriculture Union denounced the cuts.

“Fewer CFIA inspectors means fewer frontline workers to catch food that should be recalled,” Dyck said in a release.

Proulx echoed the sentiment. “The Joriki Listeria incident in 2024 showed what can happen when we over rely on industry self-reporting and minimize in-person interactions with CFIA inspection personnel,” said Proulx. “In Canada we have a high level of trust in our food safety system, and much of that trust comes from the quality of inspection.”

The union noted that food recalls have increased 150 per cent over the previous decade.

The federal government plans to cut a total of 40,000 public service jobs.

With files from The Canadian Press.