British Columbia has a strong set of action items for agriculture stemming from the recent Task Force on Agriculture and Food Economy, but the sector is still missing the strategic framework connecting those actions to clear goals, objectives and measurable targets for the future of B.C. agriculture. There is no growth and production plan. No strategy for increased food self-sufficiency or less reliance on imports. No way to track whether the province is strengthening the industry that grows our food, employs our people, stewards our farmland and supports our rural communities. BC Agriculture Council is calling on every party to lay out how it will provide that strategic direction and secure the essential needs of the sector.

What B.C. Agriculture Needs from the Next Government

  1. Clear Goals, Objectives and Targets for the Sector

    • Commit to delivering on the recommendations from the recent Task Force on Agriculture and Food Economy, a non-partisan effort that identified the sector’s most urgent needs.

    • Recognize agriculture as an essential service, prioritizing its critical needs in government policies and programs – demonstrating a commitment to B.C.’s resilience and giving British Columbians confidence that their food supply is secure.

    • Develop a provincial agriculture production plan in collaboration with industry, built around clear goals, objectives and measurable targets to guide and track the growth of B.C.’s agriculture production and food system – a critical step to compete nationally and internationally amid climate change and trade disruption.

  2. Farmland Protection and Preservation 

    • Update the outdated revenue thresholds for farm classification – unchanged for over 30 years -to reflect the modern realities of farming and ensure agricultural land is used for agricultural production.
    • Maintain the current rules protecting land within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) from development pressure – preserving the ALR’s integrity as the province’s distinct policy tool for securing land for primary agricultural production, now and for future generations.

  3. Water Access Certainty and Security 

    • Ensure farmers and ranchers have a seat at the table from the earliest stages of watershed planning, so plans benefit from farmers’ on-the-ground knowledge and advance food security and watershed health together.
    • Invest in water storage capacity that supports not only seasonal peaks but also agriculture’s year-round needs, limiting economic and social costs in times of drought.

  4. Workforce and Labour Certainty 

    • Advocate to the federal government for improvements to and the safeguarding of the agriculture streams of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, allowing the sector to continue to adapt to a shortage of domestic labour.
    • Provide on-arrival Medical Services Plan coverage to TFWs in agriculture and food program streams, matching competing jurisdictions like Ontario and allowing B.C. to better compete in the recruitment of these workers.
    • Extend the driver’s licensing exemption for workers under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program to the Agricultural Stream and the new proposed TFW Agriculture and Fish Processing Stream once implemented – improving quality of life for workers who may otherwise rely on others for transportation.

  5. Supportive Programs That Enable Competitiveness 

    • Implement the priorities identified in the Farming at the Edge report on the financial realities facing B.C.’s commercial farms, to strengthen their resilience in a high-cost, high-inflation environment.
    • Focus government programs and investment on the subsectors and regions best positioned to compete, to maximize the impact of public investment in the sector.

Questions for B.C.’s Political Parties

British Columbia has no overarching production strategy for its agriculture sector – no measurable target for food self-sufficiency, and no consistent framework for tracking the province’s progress toward it. Without a defined goal, it is difficult for government, industry, or the public to know whether policy decisions are actually strengthening our sector and food system, or simply reacting to it one issue at a time.


A provincial agriculture production plan – with a clear strategic target (for example, reducing British Columbia’s reliance on food imports by 10% by 2030) and measurable key performance indicators – would give government, industry, and British Columbians a shared benchmark for success. It would also provide the framework within which the priorities below (land, water, competitiveness, and labour) can be addressed in a coordinated way, rather than in isolation.

If we are to unlock the full potential of our province’s agriculture sector, then it is vital that the little land we do have is being actively farmed and incentivized for productive agricultural production. We are growing more concerned that the current tax structure enables landowners to underutilize farmland for farming and instead use it primarily for non-farm use. This is diluting the effect of the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) and encourages developers to purchase farmland for other purposes.


To ensure this is achieved, BCAC, its members and many other stakeholder groups have long advocated for there to be an update to the revenue thresholds. These thresholds have not been updated in more than 30 years and, as a result, do not reflect the modern realities of farming. Currently, farm classification can be obtained for a property reporting gross annual farm sales as low as $2,500.

Reviewing this legislation would ensure farmland is poised for growth and used for agricultural production, and that municipalities receive appropriate taxation revenues from lands that are used for purposes other than agricultural production. It would also signal to British Columbians the importance that its government continues to place on food security.

There is no food without it. Farmers and ranchers cannot plant, grow, raise, or harvest without reliable access to water, and any long-term food strategy must ensure this essential resource is secured for agriculture. Recently, the Premier’s Task Force on Agriculture and Food Economy delivered a series of strong recommendations to strengthen B.C.’s approach to agricultural water management. These must be implemented in full while prioritizing the recommendations outlined below.


As agriculture is essential to our communities and agricultural production needs water, then it is essential that agriculture is actively engaged in watershed planning. As the Premier’s Task Force has recommended, the Government of B.C. must consult with farmers and ranchers from the earliest stage of any watershed plan.


Further, as we plan for our future water storage needs, we continue to urge collaboration with industry to properly reflect B.C.’s agricultural diversity where there is continuous demand for water, not just seasonal peaks. For example, unlike seasonal field crops, greenhouses produce all year-round, making water availability in winter and shoulder seasons critical.

Currently, B.C. is the most expensive jurisdiction in Canada in which to farm. This high-cost environment affects farm profitability as well as our sector’s capacity to compete with imported product in our province, let alone international markets. This is why we are seeking commitment to deliver on the recommendations from the Premier’s Task Force on Agriculture and Food Economy regarding competitiveness, prioritizing the recommendation outlined below.

Growing structural cost disadvantages are making it increasingly difficult for many B.C. farms to invest, expand, and remain competitive according to a new University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) report. This research identifies declining financial resilience, particularly among mid-sized commercial farms, as one of the most significant long-term risks facing B.C. agriculture.

It also finds that B.C. farms face higher feed, labour, land, rent, and financing costs than many competitors across Canada. While the sector continues to generate positive operating income, that income masks a deeper vulnerability: B.C.’s commercial farms carry the fastest-growing farm debt of any province in Canada and less financial resilience than any other major agricultural jurisdiction, limiting their capacity to invest, expand, or absorb cost increases.

The above points reinforce the need to implement the recommendation of the Task Force recommendation to, “Work in collaboration with industry to review and focus government programs, services and resources on the subsectors, businesses, products, and regional clusters with the greatest potential for growth and long-term competitiveness – guided by sector data and detailed market and competitor intelligence to understand where B.C. businesses are best positioned to compete and ensure strong return on public investment.

The sector data part is complete – we must get to work on the policy changes that will have the greatest impacts.

In 2025, the Task Force met to talk about five key topics: water, competitiveness, labour and talent, land and investment. They came up with 32 recommendations for government to consider, all aimed to help strengthen B.C.’s agriculture and food economy. To ensure their ideas are implemented, the Task Force also recommends that industry keeps track of progress and government action.


The Task Force is focused on:

  • Producing prioritized, actionable recommendations to government on behalf of the sector that provide a clear roadmap for addressing sector challenges
  • Enabling efficient decision making and timely implementation by government to produce a tangible impact for farmers and processors
  • Developing a measurable long-term vision for sector growth and competitiveness

The goals and recommendations of the Task Force were non-partisan and the implementation of the recommendations must continue, no matter what government forms after October 24, 2026.

Farmers and ranchers rely on temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to plant, grow, raise, and harvest food and other agricultural goods. Sudden reductions or restrictive reforms in federal immigration policy risk immediate labour shortages, inflate costs for consumers, and threaten food security, regional economies, and seasonal farm businesses.


The sector needs a government that will proactively and formally advocate for and implement a provincial safeguard protecting agriculture’s access to the federal Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) programs, emphasizing food security, economic stability, and accountability.


The sector is committed to collaborating with government, farmers, and workers to ensure a reliable, lawful workforce for B.C. agriculture. Proactive provincial leadership now will safeguard our food supply, rural economies, and the wellbeing of workers – while ensuring Canada’s immigration policies responsibly serve both labour and public interests.

The sector looks to our provincial government after October 24th to advocate to the federal government for improvements to and safeguarding of the agriculture TFW Program streams and immediately action improvements within Provincial jurisdiction to improve program outcomes for employees and employers in B.C. Specifically:

  1. Direct the Ministry of Health to continue work in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food to ensure B.C.’s housing standards for TFWs in agriculture and food align with Employment and Social Development Canada’s new TFW program housing requirements and implement mid-season housing inspections in B.C.
  2. Direct the Ministry of Health to provide Medical Services Plan (MSP) coverage to TFWs in agriculture and food program streams upon arrival in B.C.
  3. Direct the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General to amend the Motor Vehicle Act and Motor Vehicle Act Regulations to extend the exemption from holding a valid B.C. driver’s license to AgStream TFWs currently, and extend the exemption to TFWs under the new proposed Temporary Foreign Worker Agriculture and Fish Processing Stream once implemented

Party Responses

Received to date, last updated: October 1, 2026

Candidate Responses

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