Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP) welcomes the federal government's new National Food Security Strategy. We have long said that affordability and resilience start with making more of our own food here at home, and this strategy reflects that. By investing in domestic processing, and recognizing that food and beverage manufacturing is Canada's largest manufacturing sector and the largest buyer of what Canadian farmers grow, the government is taking the kind of structural action this moment demands.

FHCP is especially encouraged by the direct support for the businesses that make Canada's food: a new billion-dollar finance fund for value-added processing, dedicated help for small and medium-sized food companies, and continued innovation investment. Our members are already investing in Canadian production, and are ready to help the government reach its goal of putting more Canadian-made food on Canadian shelves.

We also share a view held widely across the sector: competitiveness and productivity are the heart of long-term affordability. The strategy's most powerful elements are competitiveness measures, and we encourage the government to keep affordability and productivity as the explicit lens through implementation, including by weighing the cost-of-food impact of new regulations.

On competition, FHCP welcomes the government's recognition that a highly concentrated retail market is not delivering for Canadians, and its move to strengthen enforcement. With the Grocery Code of Conduct now operational, the priority is ensuring it is implemented effectively and adhered to across the sector.
Ambition now has to meet execution. The strategy sets clear targets, and meeting them will depend on these investments flowing quickly and on the capacity to deliver them. FHCP looks forward to working constructively with the government and partners across the value chain to turn this strategy into real value at the checkout.