[Link to signature at the end of the page]
In accordance with the motion approved by membership of the CSSS during the 2026 AGM, the following petition is being circulated to the members of CSSS for their individual consideration and action. The petition protests the closure of Canadian research centers and experimental farms of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in a sector that is crucial for research and innovation across the country.
In January, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) announced plans to close seven critically important research facilities across the country, end the Organic and Regenerative Research Program, and terminate 12% of AAFC personnel – 665 researchers, technicians, and support staff whose experience, knowledge and skills are highly specialized, within less than 12 months. These federal funding cuts would throw away decades of public investment in people, science and infrastructure, while increasing long-term risk to farmers and the food system. (NFU.ca, March 25, 2026)
Research centres in Guelph, Ont., Quebec City and Lacombe, Alta., as well as four satellite research farms across Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are closing.
¨For more than a century, this research station has been a fixture of agricultural advancement in Western Canada,” said Lacombe County Reeve John Ireland in the post on Friday.
“You cannot easily replicate 119 years of research history, specialized land, and long-term trials elsewhere. Once this site is lost, it’s gone forever.” (CBC, Jan 24, 2026: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/agriculture-and-agri-food-canada-announces-job-cuts-closure-of-research-operations-9.7059963)
Text to link to article in La Presse and English translation:
Translation:
The [federal] government cuts a key link in the network of agricultural research in Canada and in Quebec. The announcement of the closure of three of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) 20 research centres and four satellite farms across the country is a disaster. The Quebec City research and development centre, located on Hochelaga Boulevard, is directly affected. This centre has existed for almost 60 years, having been created on the occasion of Canada’s centennial in 1967. This center brings together several researchers recognized among the best in the world in the fields of soil science, forage plants and impacts of agriculture on the environment (including climate and greenhouse gas emissions). For years, the research teams of this institution have collaborated closely with those of several universities in Quebec, including Laval University, thus contributing to the training of an incalculable number of young researchers who have become leaders throughout Quebec or elsewhere in the world. The announcement of the loss of this partnership is an immense shock to the entire agricultural research community.
Research at the Quebec City Research and Development Centre focuses on reducing the environmental impacts of agricultural practices while improving forage productivity and harvests in a colder, wetter climate than the rest of Canada. This centre also has key expertise on soil, air and water quality. A recent study by the Institut de recherche et développement en agroenvironnement (IRDA) reveals that 90% of agricultural soils in Quebec show signs of degradation, a worrying situation that is also reflected throughout North America and Europe. However, in Europe, it is more prioritized to reduce soil health to an acceptable level by 2050 to protect the food independence of its own population. Furthermore, the priority is to restore soil health by 2050 in order to protect people’s food independence and ensure the resilience of agri-food systems in the face of climate change. About fifteen years ago, the Harper government put an end to the activities of federal soil teams, which would have alerted us to this situation. The [federal] administration is now closing research centres that have essential expertise to protect Canadians from degradation of agricultural soils and their environment. In the long term, it is the very survival of agriculture that will be affected.
Politicians and civil society rarely realize that all the citizens of the world “are 30 cm away from famine”. What does it mean? It means that all the food we eat depends on 30 cm of soil at the surface of the Earth. In Quebec as elsewhere, we have several critical issues related to agricultural soils: organic market gardens are eroding and sinking, reducing our ability to produce local vegetables. The area under grassland, which allows soil regeneration, is decreasing while that under annual crops is increasing. There is a problem of significant compaction of fertile agricultural soils in several regions of Canada: the St. Lawrence Valley, the Fraser Valley, southwestern Ontario and the prairies. These soils become compacted due to the loss of organic matter and the increase in the size and weight of agricultural machinery. As a result, yields decrease and the profitability of production also. More fertilizers are then added to try to compensate for this decrease and, consequently, a significant portion of these fertilizers ends up in our rivers and lakes. In the long term, these issues are catastrophic for farmers and their ability to produce. The teams at the Quebec Research Centre were actively contributing to finding solutions to many of these problems, particularly through various actions rooted in practice environments and carried out jointly with farmers grappling with these challenges.
There is already not enough expertise in Canada to support the research activities needed to counter this major trend of agricultural land degradation. The closure of this centre, where unique expertise in Quebec has developed over several years, has an incalculable negative impact on the agricultural community. The end of the work carried out by the Center’s teams will further accelerate the loss of expertise on forage plants and soil health, which is critical for the population. Long-term research, as AAFC researchers have been doing for several years, is essential to propose credible and applicable solutions to agricultural stakeholders. In the current economic and geopolitical context, there is no worse time to cut this crucial research. This decision necessarily stems from a profound misunderstanding of the importance of agricultural research for the Canadian population and a complete ignorance of this situation, even though it is supported by numerous scientific reports. In our eyes, it is downright irresponsible to proceed with the unilateral closure of the Centre. We ask the [federal] government to reverse course in order to protect the future of the next generations of Quebec and Canada.
Sign the petition here https://forms.gle/hy2NEMgs4kSJKQVd7