Feds put up $32M for maple leaf branding

The “Canada Brand” initiative to get a maple leaf brand on Canadian agri-foods worldwide is to be fueled by $32 million in federal support.

The initiative is expected to fund market analysis, advertising campaigns and public opinion research for the promotion of “Canada’s safe, top-quality agriculture,” the government said in a release Thursday.

“By more actively promoting the strengths and benefits of the Canada Brand, the government will be complementing the individual marketing efforts of specific agriculture and food sectors in order to open more doors and increase sales,” Quebec MLA Jean-Pierre Blackburn, the federal minister of state for agriculture, said in the release.

The initiative “will work in lockstep with industry as a springboard to complement the successes already achieved in key markets,” the government said.

The funding for the Canada Brand initiative will flow through the government’s $500 million AgriFlexibility fund, which is now accepting proposals from the provinces and ag industry players.

The fund is meant to support projects to reduce costs of ag production, improve environmental sustainability, promote “value chain innovation and sectoral adaptation” and respond to “emerging opportunities and market challenges.”