Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at FHCP’s Annual General Meeting, (part of our CEO & Executive Leadership Conference), an event that brought together many of the most experienced leaders in Canada’s food, health, and consumer products sector.

It is always a highlight of the year, not just for the discussions we have, but for what they reveal about where our industry is headed. This post continues that conversation, reflecting on what we are seeing, what it means, and where leadership must now take us.

Affordability has become the defining issue of our time.

One in four Canadians now rely on food banks, and many visit monthly. That is not a temporary spike; it is a sign of deeper structural strain. For our industry, that means pressure from every direction: consumers who are stretched thin, employees managing higher costs of living, and retailers eager to distance themselves from the conversation.

Too often, manufacturers are caught in the middle. Pricing decisions are about cost recovery, not profit expansion, but perception matters. We need to tell that story more clearly and more consistently.

The retail environment has never been more complex.

In my nine years leading FHCP, I have never seen negotiations as sensitive as they are today. Large retailers are focused on managing their public image on affordability, sometimes at the expense of partnership.

That is why the Grocery Code of Conduct matters. It brings fairness and predictability to our relationships across the supply chain. The core provisions are complete, stronger in fact than the model used in the United Kingdom. What remains is the dispute resolution process, the final stretch of the work. It is difficult, but I am confident we will get there.

With continued alignment and pre-registration, the Code will be fully implemented by January 2026, a milestone for our sector.

Policy in Ottawa is shifting, and it is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.

Under Prime Minister Mark Carney, government is taking a more pragmatic, economically focused tone. We are seeing a willingness to modernize, reduce red tape, and view competitiveness as a policy goal, not a talking point.

At FHCP, we are engaging directly on that front. Health Canada is now more open than ever to modernization, moving from a mindset of restriction to one of enablement. For the first time in years, we are seeing policy designed to support production, not penalize it.

We also need to think long term about manufacturing capacity.

Over the past four decades, Canada has lost too much ground. More than half of center-store grocery products are imported, mostly from the United States. That is not just an economic concern; it is a strategic one. Reclaiming even part of that production base would mean billions in investment and tens of thousands of new jobs.

FHCP is working with KPMG on economic research that will quantify the opportunity, showing how regulatory modernization, fair retail practices, and competitive policy all feed into the same goal: building a stronger manufacturing base here at home.

At the provincial level, the same logic applies.

Ontario’s current Blue Box framework, while well-intentioned, has created unnecessary cost and confusion. It is time to fix it, not to slow environmental progress, but to align good policy with good business.

Leadership now means imagination.

Cutting costs can steady the ship, but it does not build a future. We need to think differently about supply chains, trade, innovation, and how we add value in a market demanding both affordability and growth. Our sector has always been about solutions. FHCP is built for that: a credible, unified voice with the expertise, data, and relationships to help shape a stronger, more competitive Canada.

The coming year will be difficult, but it will also be defining. Together, we can build an economy that works better for consumers, for businesses, and for the people who depend on both.

This op-ed was originally published on Linkedin.