Alberta’s agriculture industry needs a broad policy update to stay competitive in a more volatile global market, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce says in a new report that urges governments to modernize support systems, improve infrastructure and help producers adopt new technology.
The report, Growing Alberta’s Global Agriculture Advantage, comes as the sector faces a fresh round of pressures from rising input costs, trade uncertainty and worsening climate risks. The chamber said prices for key farm inputs such as fuel, nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer have climbed in recent weeks amid conflict in the Middle East, while producers are also grappling with drought concerns and unanswered questions around Canada-U.S. trade relations and the coming CUSMA review.
In a release earlier this week, Chamber president Deborah Yedlin said Alberta agriculture has shown resilience through repeated disruptions, but warned that resilience alone is no longer enough. She said the sector remains too dependent on a small number of export markets and needs stronger government support to remain globally competitive.
Among its recommendations, the chamber called on federal and provincial governments to modernize crop insurance and other agricultural insurance programs so they better reflect growing climate risk. It also urged expanded support for technology adoption, including artificial intelligence, robotics and precision agriculture, along with faster progress on rural broadband to improve connectivity by 2027.
The report also highlighted labour and succession challenges. It recommended better coordination of immigration, housing, health care and community infrastructure to attract workers to rural areas, and called for a permanent immigration stream to help agricultural workers move from temporary jobs to permanent residency. To ease generational farm transfers, the chamber said access to capital should be expanded through Farm Credit Canada and other lenders.
Other proposals include investing in rail, port and other trade-enabling infrastructure, harmonizing regulations across Canada and building stronger education-to-industry partnerships to draw more young people into agri-food careers
