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Shape the future of rural Canada: Public consultation on the development of a Rural Development Action Plan

 
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Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) is doing a survey to inform the development of Canada’s Rural Development Action Plan. To help NFU members, other farmers, and rural residents respond to this survey, NFU policy leaders invited people to share their thoughts on the questions to guide our organizational response to the government’s survey.

A big thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts with us for this process! The deadline to complete the government’s survey is Friday, February 6, 2026.

Read on for a brief overview and summary of the responses shared with us. In addition, this survey is an opportunity to highlight key federal initiatives that are important to rural residents and which could be weakened by impending budget cuts:

  • The Post Office, especially rural delivery
  • Agriculture research, especially public plant breeding, low-input agriculture, sustainable livestock production, agro-ecosystem and soil health
  • The CBC
  • Affordable childcare
  • Rural public transit
  • Healthcare, dental care, and pharmacare
  • The Canadian Grain Commission

To complete the federal government’s Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) Rural Development Action Plan Rural Development Action Plan survey as an individual, go to the following link and complete the survey by Friday, Feb. 6th.

Complete the Survey Today!

Below is a brief overview and summary of the responses (to the first three questions) that were shared with us. Please note that because these are summaries of survey responses, they do not necessarily represent National Farmers Union policy perspectives, they represent the perspectives of our members and supporters. Feel free to use some of these concepts and ideas in your own answers to the ISED survey.

  1. How can existing federal initiatives be improved to better address the unique challenges and opportunities faced by your rural community?

In the responses that we received, people talked about issues that affected them and their communities, rather than about specific federal initiatives. The following is a summary of their responses.

The federal government can and should help farmers and rural communities, particularly regarding land affordability, commodification, financialization, and urban sprawl; support for small and local food businesses; and climate change. Issues facing rural communities include deteriorating transport infrastructure, lack of rural connectivity, and biodiversity and ecosystem loss. Any Rural Development Action plan must be co-produced with rural communities and must take into consideration the long-term needs of rural people.

In the description of this survey, rural broadband is mentioned as one example of a federal rural development initiative. There should be a shift from “connectivity only” towards “digital sovereignty” in current programs. A digital sovereignty framework would not simply build broadband access and precision agriculture infrastructure, but govern the tech companies who own data and digital platforms. The framework would also favour open standards, local data storage, and farmer/community control over agronomic and environmental data.

  1. What federal, provincial, territorial or regional programs have been notably successful in promoting rural development within your region?

Three successful federal programs were named in the responses that the NFU received to this question.

  • The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA)
  • The Prairie Shelterbelt Program 
  • The On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) 
  • The Agricultural Clean Technology Program – Adoption Stream is another on-farm climate adaptation program which helps to support adoption of clean energy on farms, including solar power. 

We received a number of responses from Ontario that highlighted programs such as:

  • Rotational grazing programs supported by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) 
  • Payment for ecosystem services: One responder from Ontario noted that Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) pilots show promise for protecting rural ecosystems but lack stable institutional funding and integration into farm income models.  
  • Local and regional conservation authority programs that provide watershed-scale planning and source water protection frameworks. These are strong institutions, but they stop at municipal boundaries and lack enforcement or integration with agricultural policy.
  • Good transit options for rural places make a big difference, such as the return of the Northlander train, which is planned to provide reliable transportation from Toronto to Timmins, Ontario. 

In Manitoba, removing school taxes from farm property taxes has helped farmers.

In Nova Scotia, the provincial community-supported agriculture (CSA) grant to help small-scale farmers with marketing and to give customers a 10% discount is a model of a program that is helpful. More programs like this are needed across the country, and the 10% discount could be increased.

In British Columbia, the Agricultural Land Act / Commission provides important safeguards to farmland surrounding major cities in BC.

  1. What kinds of policy changes or initiatives would make the greatest difference to the long-term sustainability of your region, and how can we measure their success? What nation-building projects could contribute to this sustainability?

The comments that we received on this question fall into seven themes: supporting a local food economy; land access; climate change; Indigenous relations; infrastructure; skills and education; and financial support.

Supporting a local food economy

The federal, provincial and regional governments could provide better support systems for small-scale farmers who provide food for their local communities. It’s imperative that agricultural supports do not only assist large-scale commodity crop farmers, but small-scale food producers as well. Initiatives that could support local food economies are:

  • Community food hubs would allow local food producers to provide food to local customers – these initiatives should be supported by all levels of government. The hubs would centralize processing, washing, packing and distribution in such a way that would enable small-scale farmers to reach more local people.
  • A National Agri-Food and Bio-Manufacturing Strategy could be launched. This strategy would be anchored in rural regions and it would facilitate investment in regional hubs for food processing and circular economy projects.
  • Small-scale livestock processing: Federal and provincial governments should be supporting small-scale abattoirs and on-farm livestock slaughter so that small-scale farms have consistent access to scale-appropriate processing.

Land access

Governments at all levels need to create programs for new and young farmers to access farmland. This would require governments to address the increasing cost and concentration of farmland ownership. Farmland loss, especially due to urban sprawl, is a crisis that must be immediately attended to as well. Here are some initiatives and policies that could protect land access for farmers:

  • Community land trusts should be added to the list of entities able to accept land donations via the ecological gift exchange, similar to conservation land trusts and ecological reserves.
  • Foreign ownership of agricultural land should be prevented.
  • Policies and initiatives developed between federal and provincial governments must address farmland loss to developers, speculators and absentee landlords.
  • Farm succession: A cost-shared program should be created to support the transition of family farms, such that new farmers can acquire land affordably while providing a retirement income for the retiring farmer.
  • House demolition, rental market collapse, and rural school closures driven by land consolidation and tax incentives should be addressed. Property tax and rental policy should be reformed to keep rural housing stock intact.  

Climate change & land stewardship

Governments at all levels need to help farmers mitigate and adapt to climate risks if we hope to continue to feed ourselves. Direct support to farmers through soil testing, best management practice implementation, payment for ecosystem services, and updated risk frameworks would help farmers to sustain their livelihoods while adapting to new climate conditions. Here are some initiatives that would help farmers and rural communities cope with climate change:

  • Soil testing, agronomic information, and public extension services should be supported by government programs
  • Ecological landscape features, such as wetlands and shelterbelts, should be reclassified as national critical infrastructure. The federal government should establish a Federal Rural Landscape Infrastructure Act with long-term funding, easements, and maintenance obligations. These initiatives would help address issues of erosion and soil preservation.
  • A National Externalities & Rural Risk Framework should be created: this framework would introduce federal guidance or regulation recognizing cross-boundary agricultural risks (snow drift, flooding, nutrient transport, pesticide drift). 
  • National Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs should be integrated into farm income support through the business risk management programs. Payments should be tied to measurable outcomes like biodiversity and water quality.
  • A national water management plan should be implemented to protect our ground-water from over-extraction, surface water pollution, and aggregate mining. 
  • Land-use policy governing biofuel production should be implemented and evidence-based modelling should be used to understand the impact of biofuel production on rural communities.

Indigenous relations

Indigenous stewardship of the land should be an essential pillar of a Rural Development Action Plan. Restoration of Indigenous stewardship practices will protect biodiversity and contribute to forest management across Canada. Centering Indigenous communities’ needs and perspectives will contribute to the dismantling of long-standing colonial systems that have marginalized their rights and voices for hundreds of years.

  • Indigenous‑led stewardship, land‑use planning, and economic development projects have shown how governance, culture, and economic development can be integrated. These should be treated as core models for rural development, not “niche” projects. 
  • Rural development initiatives must include Indigenous communities and honour the treaties that the Federal government has signed. Treaties should be honoured in rural development initiatives, by establishing long‑term, co‑governed frameworks that align rural development with Indigenous rights, knowledge, and stewardship.

Infrastructure

Rural infrastructure is deteriorating rapidly and funds are urgently required for its maintenance. This includes roads, bridges, and digital infrastructure needed for cellular and internet connectivity. It also includes public plant breeding programs which provide knowledge networks and jobs for rural communities.

  • Protect and increase funding for public agronomic research programs, such as plant breeding, livestock research, and climate and landscape research.
  • An infrastructure fund should be created to update existing rural infrastructure, including roads, bridges, sewer systems, and water systems.
  • A fund for rural climate‑resilient infrastructure corridors should be supported: these would be integrated corridors that would combine transportation (short‑line rail, EV freight routes), energy (distributed renewables, storage, microgrids), and digital infrastructure; they should be designed to support both local communities and the national economy.
  • A Rural Digital and Data Commons Framework should be implemented. The framework would:
    • Establish national standards and funding for rural data trusts and commons (for soil, water, crop, climate, and infrastructure data). 
    • Require that agribusiness and platform providers interoperate with these commons instead of locking data into proprietary silos. 
    • Create a Public–interest digital infrastructure as a utility. Treat key digital infrastructure (broadband, cloud/edge capacity, identity, payments, and data storage) as critical infrastructure, with public or community options—so rural communities are not dependent on a handful of foreign platforms for essential services. 
  • A National Rural Housing & Community Stabilization Program should be implemented to prevent rural housing loss, encourage rural housing construction, support rentals, farm worker housing, and multi-generational rural settlement. 

Education/Skills

Rural communities must have the skills and training to create resilient local economies. Federal and provincial youth employment, co‑op, and skills programs have been effective when they are flexible enough to support placements with farms, local manufacturers, municipalities, and Indigenous communities—not just large urban employers. Here are some education and skilling initiatives that would help rural communities:

  • Regional innovation networks and college‑based centres: Applied research centres at colleges and regional innovation networks have been successful when they are funded to work in the field with farmers, small manufacturers, and municipalities on practical problems (e.g., soil health, water management, automation, and digital record‑keeping).
  • A Rural Skills and Civic Leadership Program should be implemented: this would be a national commitment to fund rural education, apprenticeships, and civic‑literacy programs that connect youth to real projects (housing, climate adaptation, digital infrastructure, sports and recreation), making rural communities sites of innovation and leadership.

Financial Support

Margins for farmers are tight, which places stress on the health of our farmers and rural communities. Here are some financial supports that would serve rural communities:

  • A guaranteed basic income for farmers 
  • A national strategy to improve public healthcare for people living in rural communities
  • Inclusive policies on tax incentives that encourage people to create businesses in rural areas. 

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