Ag leaders welcome MacAulay’s appointment as AAFC Minister   

Industry leaders and organizations are welcoming the July 26 announcement that veteran MP Lawrence McAulay will be taking over the post of Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food–and wasting no time calling him to action.

It is the P.E.I. MP’s second time in the role, having previously held it between 2015 and 2019.

MacAulay took over the role from Marie-Claude Bibeau, who will move to the post of Minister of National Revenue.

Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) was quick to commend the appointment, releasing a press release shortly after the news broke Tuesday.

“On behalf of all Manitoba farmers, I want to welcome Minister MacAulay back to his role as Minister of Agriculture & Agri-Food,” said KAP President Jill Verwey via the statement.

She also thanked Bibeau for her work in the role and said that MacAulay’s previous experience would be an asset in the future.

There is support for the move within MacAulay’s home province as well; Donald Killorn, Executive Director of the Prince Edward Island Federation of Agriculture (PEIFA) said he welcomed the news.

“Farmers on Prince Edward Island are very pleased to see Minister MacAulay return to the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada portfolio,” said Killorn. “We had a good relationship with Minister Bibeau, but Minister MacAulay is someone who we know well and many, many farmers have a personal relationship with.”

“He was a Prince Edward Island farmer himself before he became a minister of Parliament,” Killorn continued. “We were thrilled to see when Prime Minister Trudeau decided to place Minister MacAulay back in that role.”

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) also welcomed MacAulay in their own statement, saying it looked forward to collaborating, “to propel the vital interests of Canadian agriculture forward, unleashing Canadian agriculture’s full potential as an economic driver and source of climate solutions.”

In a follow-up interview, CFA President Keith Currie said he was encouraged to see someone with experience dealing in agriculture taking over the role.

“It’s nice to have somebody that’s familiar with the industry and familiar with the players,” Currie said. “There won’t hopefully be a long period of getting up to speed.”

Currie also mentioned that MacAulay’s personal experience with farming could be an asset.

“Coming from an island like Prince Edward Island where predominantly agriculture is everything, he certainly is kept up to speed with, you know, a lot of the issues, so we’re looking forward to reacquainting ourselves with Mr. MacAulay and working together with him moving forward.”

“I was vice president of CFA when he was appointed as minister,” Currie said. “And so, we did work closely with him.”

He also acknowledged Bibeau’s work in the role, thanking her for four years as ag minister. “I know she worked very hard,” he said.

Lauren Kennedy, Director of Public Affairs for the Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) said MacAulay has always been a relevant figure in Canadian agriculture, no matter what role he currently held.

“We’ve worked closely with Lawrence MacAulay back when he was minister previously. Even since then, to be honest, he’s always been a friend of agriculture,” she said.

“Even when he was outside of the portfolio, we kept in touch with him and kept him apprised of our issues.”

The Canadian Organic Growers (COG) welcomed MacAulay back to the role and said they looked forward to working with him.

“COG looks forward to engaging and collaborating with Minister MacAulay on the interests and needs of Canadian organic and regenerative producers, and the essential role they play in advancing Canada’s climate goals,” read a July 27 press release.

In the dairy industry, the news was met kindly as well.

“Minister MacAulay is well versed on the realities of dairy production, and we look forward to collaborating with him further,” said David Wiens, President of Dairy Farmers of Canada in an email.

National Farmers Union (NFU) President Jen Pfenning said the NFU sent MacAulay a letter of congratulation after hearing the news.

“He has experience in the role, so I suspect he’ll be up to speed quite quickly, and that’s a good thing,” said Pfenning. “I personally am looking forward to meeting with him as soon as he can make some time in his schedule.”

The NFU wasted no time calling the newly appointed minister to action; they issued a joint letter with the Wheat Growers Association (WGA) asking him to halt the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) decision to impose export grade standards on wheat delivered to country elevators within the hour of his appointment.

Pfenning said this was not at all related to his change in position, but a statement the NFU was already planning on issuing.

— Jonah Grignon reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.