By Michael Mikulak, executive director, Food & Beverage Manitoba

For the last three years, I have been representing Manitoba in our nation’s capital on Food and Agriculture Day in Canada. I always look forward to this weeklong celebration and the opportunity to connect with colleagues and friends from across the country and to advocate on behalf of the sector with senators, MPs, and senior officials.

As part of my role as a board member with Food and Beverage Canada, coming to Ottawa provides an opportunity to connect with my colleagues across the country and allows us to share intel, collaborate, and plan for the future. 

2025 has been a bit different.

The vibes in Ottawa have shifted as economic warfare has been declared on us by the Trump administration. With so many of us worried about what the future will hold and struggling to plan and strategize when faced with an erratic and unpredictable administration, the tone and tenor of our conversations are different this year. 

While many of us have been blindsided by the rapidity and aggression of Trump’s mercurial vindictiveness, I have been equally impressed by the care and compassion that Canadians have shown over the weeks, and the sense of unity and urgency that has underpinned Team Canada. 

Last week, I was fortunate to join Premier Wab Kinew at the Shop Manitoba Buy Local announcement and spoke extensively with Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn about the unique vulnerabilities and challenges the agri-food sector will face in the coming months and years.

We also spoke about how moments like these can help provide clarity and accelerate changes that we have, frankly, known for decades.

Never waste a good crisis

I have decided that we can wallow in self-pity about what Trump is doing, or we can see this as a gift. We have witnessed Canadians come together and express their pride in a way that I have rarely seen before. Although the tariffs will cause financial and logistical difficulties, they are spurring a sense of urgency on matters that we have been debating for years. Whether this is reducing interprovincial trade barriers that have stopped so many of our companies from growing, or celebrating our local bounty, we have seen more movement in the last three weeks than in the last ten years.

I am proud to see Canadians vote with their pocketbook and seek out our local producers and processors, and hope that we finally start to treat food as the fundamental substance it is. Evan Fraser’s post in the Globe and Mail made it clear that we have traded food security for convenience and flavourless strawberries in January. It’s time to treat food sovereignty as the national security issue it is. We wholeheartedly support the development of a food system that is diverse, sustainable, and profitable for producers, consumers, and all Canadians.

The world wants what Canada has

While the US descends into protectionism and tries to create a wall around its borders, let us pursue a more noble agenda. We are and always have been a nation that celebrates diversity as strength. We are a nation of traders and must not be tempted to close our own borders. Trading with the US will always be an significant part of our economic strategy, but it’s time to recognize our own advantages with our food, water, and critical minerals. While the US closes its borders and villainizes immigration, we must do the opposite and show the world that our doors are open to people, ideas, and profits.  While the US rallies against equality, multiculturalism, and universal opportunity, we can become the shining light in the dark. Isolationism won’t solve global problems; it’ll only reduce everyone’s share. Unleashing the billionaire class to break things and move fast isn’t the answer either. We can grow our economy, support truth and reconciliation, celebrate diversity, and not destroy the planet at the same time. The false dichotomies being offered by Trump make for bold sound bites on social media, but they have no basis in reality.

Diversify, diversify, diversify

Trading with the US has been the easy and convenient path for many years because the US has been a beacon for openness and free trade based on mutual respect and international law. And Canadians and Americans have benefited from this immensely. While we shouldn’t give up hope that America will wake up from this fever dream eventually, it’s time to do what every financial advisor recommends: diversify. We are over-indexed on US exports, and while our supply chains are deeply integrated, we need to invest in export infrastructure, fix our ports, and support our companies as they seek trading partners who understand that trade is not a zero-sum game. The world wants what we have, so let’s get out there.

Sustainability, purpose, and DEI is not dead

At the very moment the world needs to come together against the existential threat faced by climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution; the world’s second-largest emitter has declared that digging up more coal to power AI innovation is somehow logical. Let us be clear, this is not a strategy based on economic evidence. Renewable energy is the cheapest form of power in almost every jurisdiction around the world, even without subsidies. Coal kills millions of people around the world every year from its effects on air and water pollution. The irony of powering an AI revolution with a fuel source perfected 300 years ago shouldn’t be lost on you.

Trump’s rejection of EVs, the energy transition, and progressive politics is not based on any evidence; it is typically reactionary and vindictive and designed to support his cronic and business partners. This is not a free-market approach; he is picking and choosing sectors in an attempt to institute industrial policy in a way that echoes the former Soviet Union. Canada has a sustainable food system, and demand for responsibly produced food will grow, creating opportunities for Canadian farmers, processors, and ranchers. 2024 was the hottest year on record, surpassing 1.5-degree above-normal temperatures. The agri-food sector has some of the best solutions to reducing that temperature and needs to show that sustainability isn’t a nice-to-have; it is the precondition for our survival and growth. This may become one of our biggest competitive advantages as we look towards jurisdictions like the EU who still value the ability to balance people, profit, and the planet. 

Cooperation and collaboration are now key

Food and Beverage Manitoba will continue to offer support to our sector during these difficult times. We will keep on advocating on your behalf and will make sure that our training and workforce development offerings are attended to your needs. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our team and join us at Cultivate on March 13, 2025 to better understand how efficiency, innovation, and a commitment to sustainability can become our biggest competitive advantage during these dark times.

foodbeveragemb.ca/cultivate