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IN THIS ISSUE:

• BUILDING BRIDGES AND BEYOND: A MESSAGE FROM JENN MACTAVISH
• RAPID RESPONSE TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS
• AAC TO SPONSOR AG-TECH BREAKFAST AT CANADA'S OUTDOOR FARM SHOW
• FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FROM CANADIAN FOOD INNOVATION NETWORK
• CLEAN AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY FUNDING
• JULY AGRIFOOD EVENTS

BUILDING BRIDGES AND BEYOND: JENN MACTAVISH

Every so often, an announcement is made that gives you a reason to stop and think about the sector you’re a part of, and what it is capable of.

The federal government's recently announced National Food Security Strategy did that for me this month. My first reaction, reading it, was that it is good to see. It is good to see agriculture and food being talked about as something foundational to the country, and good to see food insecurity named as the serious, structural issue it is, rather than something to be addressed at the margins.

But the reaction that stayed with me was a quieter one. 

A strategy like this only exists because the sector it speaks to is strong enough to carry it. The ambitions in it (processing more of what we grow here, depending less on others, growing more year-round) are not small, and they are not abstract. They are the kind of challenges a sector takes on when it is ready for them. And I think Canada’s agri-food sector is ready.

I also noticed how much of the strategy is built on ground we already know well. The Ontario Food Terminal sits near the centre of it, held up as a model worth expanding. Ontario's greenhouse sector is pointed to as a foundation to build on.

There is a line in this work I keep coming back to. Our sector needs leadership, and it needs decision-makers who understand how much agriculture and food matter to this country. The strongest version of that relationship is the one where industry leads and government comes alongside it, rather than the other way around. A strategy like this is a sign of what becomes possible when that is the case, and it is also an invitation to keep showing up that way.

That invitation is one AAC has been thinking hard about.

Some of you know we have spent time this year asking difficult questions about the role AAC should play in the sector in the years ahead, and what the sector needs from us now. There is still much work to be done, and there are conversations with members and stakeholders still to come. But a moment like this clarifies why the difficult questions we’ve been asking matters. A sector ready to take on the ambitions in this strategy needs places where its shared challenges can be brought together and worked through, and helping to be one of those places is exactly the direction this work is pointing us towards.

AAC has always stood behind a strong agriculture and food system. That has not changed.

What this moment does, is sharpen it, in both the commitment, and our sense of how AAC can best serve our sector going forward. As the sector takes up the work ahead that a National Food Security Strategy puts forward, we intend to help make sure it has the leaders, the ideas, and the connections to move forward to act, on the questions no single organization can answer alone.

That is work worth doing, and worth doing together. I look forward to the conversations to come.

-Jenn

RAPID RESPONSE FUNDING INITIATIVE RETURNS FOR 2026

AAC SPONSORS AG TECH BREAKFAST AT CANADA'S OUTDOOR FARM SHOW THIS FALL

PROGRAM FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FROM CANADIAN FOOD INNOVATION NETWORK

Applications for theTrue North Sustainable Food Fund are now open. The fund is designed to support Canadian foodtech Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developing and demonstrating novel clean technology solutions for the food manufacturing and distribution sectors.

The program provides targeted funding for industrial demonstration projects that help validate emerging technologies in real-world operational environments. Projects must focus on reducing emissions and improving efficiency across the food system, from energy use and water consumption to waste reduction and reuse.

For more information, visit True North Sustainable Food Fund

The Canadian Food Innovation Network has announced Foodtech Frontier is back for its second year and applications are now open.

Foodtech Frontier recognizes Canada's leading and emerging foodtech companies across two designations: Established Foodtech Leader and Rising Star.

Selected companies benefit from targeted media coverage, enhanced investment attraction, strategic partnership opportunities, and elevated visibility nationally and globally.

For more information, visit Foodtech Frontier

NEW FUNDING FOR INNOVATIVE CLEAN AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY

Bioenterprise Canada has announced the Clean Agri-Tech Accelerator (CATA), a new program that will support Canadian agriculture businesses advancing high-impact clean technology projects.

The intake for CATA formally opens Thursday, June 25, 2026.

More details about the program, including eligibility criteria, application timelines, and the full program guide, will be available on Bioenterprise.ca.

UPCOMING ONTARIO AGRI-FOOD EVENTS