Today, during a visit to Trius Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced an extension to the Wine Sector Support Program. With an investment of up to $177 million over the next 3 years, the program will continue to help the Canadian wine sector improve its competitiveness and adapt to the challenges it faces.
Canada's wine sector is a key economic driver, providing business opportunities for grape growers and wine makers as well as jobs in rural communities across the country. While the industry has seen considerable growth over the past several years, it continues to face a range of pressures impacting its financial resilience and competitiveness, including input price increases, labour shortages, climate limitations and severe weather events.
Originally launched in July 2022, the Wine Sector Support Program provides financial support to help licensed Canadian wineries adapt to ongoing and emerging challenges. This new funding will provide additional support to the wine sector, incenting investments that will help to capitalize on strengths and position it for long-term success. The additional funding brings the Government of Canada's total investment through the program to over $343 million.
In addition to this funding, Minister MacAulay also announced two initiatives under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, both led by the Canadian Grapevine Certification Network, to advance science and research and increase the competitiveness of the sector. This includes up to $5.9 million under the AgriScience Program - Clusters Component for the Grape and Wine Cluster, as well as up to $836,220 under the AgriAssurance Program.
The overall objective of the Grape and Wine Cluster is to support research to help the sector adapt to the increasingly frequent extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change as well as new pest and disease problems, both threats to the sustainability and resiliency of the Canadian grape and wine sector.
Funding under the AgriAssurance Program will support continued work to provide Canadian grape growers and wineries with the clean materials needed to plant certified virus-free grapevines in their vineyards, which will ensure the long-term success of the sector.
The national, regional and local economic contribution of Canada's wine sector has a far reach - from grape growing, to retail sales, to tourism - while also helping the agricultural sector grow and diversify. The Government of Canada will continue to work with the wine industry to strengthen the sector and keep it competitive.
