For Immediate Release
Ottawa – May 19, 2026 – Food recalls are up 150%, a federal allergy testing lab is on the chopping block, and seven agricultural research farms—some over a century old—are set to close. Today, federal workers in food inspection and agricultural science launched Food Safety First, a bold national campaign to protect Canada’s food safety system.
The campaign aims to educate Canadians about the consequences of federal cuts to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)—and to pressure the government to reverse them. A national bilingual advertising campaign, including digital billboards, social media and targeted digital ads, launches today to amplify the message.
“Canada’s food safety system has two essential pillars: Inspection and agricultural research,” says Milton Dyck, National President of the Agriculture Union, which represents 4,000 CFIA employees and 2,500 AAFC employees. “Both are being cut. Both put Canadians at risk.”
Cuts today mean unsafe food tomorrow. From the inspector on the slaughterhouse line to the scientist tracking pests in a research field, the federal government is hollowing out the whole system. And Canadians will pay with their health, their wallets, and their trust.
This past winter, the federal government announced it was cutting 587 jobs at the CFIA (nearly one fifth of its total workforce), and 665 jobs at AAFC. Both agencies are already at a tipping point. The CFIA has admitted it cannot handle multiple crises at once. Seven research farms and centres are due to close this year, wiping out over a century of agricultural data. And the government is threatening to shut down the only food allergy testing lab in eastern Canada.
“The time to act is now,” Dyck says. “We don’t want any more Canadians getting sick from preventable foodborne illnesses, or farmers losing another generation to drought and crop failure. That’s why we’re calling on Canadians to visit FoodSafetyFirst.ca and send a letter to their MP, PM Carney and the Ministers of Health and Agriculture to demand they put food safety first.”
The campaign’s demands have already earned support from farmers, food safety advocates, and a unanimous parliamentary committee report.
For media requests, please contact:
Aaron Lakoff, Communications Officer, Agriculture Union:
LakoffA@psac-afpc.com | 343-596-4400