Report on Canada’s Potential as a Global Leader in Food Security and Sustainable Development

Introduction: Aligning Canada’s Agri-Food Sector with the Sustainable Development Goals

Achieving global food security, a core component of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger), is a strategic imperative. Canada, with its significant agricultural scale and capacity for innovation, is positioned to be a critical contributor to this goal. However, to realize its full potential as a global food security leader, Canada must address internal constraints that impede competitiveness and the delivery of its agricultural assets to world markets. This report, informed by expert analysis, outlines the challenges and strategic pathways for Canada to build a more resilient and productive agri-food system, thereby advancing its role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Current Challenges and SDG Alignment

Canada’s agri-food sector faces several challenges that impact its ability to contribute effectively to both domestic and global sustainability targets.

• Infrastructure and Logistical Deficiencies: Transportation bottlenecks and underinvestment in physical and digital infrastructure hinder the efficient movement of goods, directly impacting progress towards SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and the ability to deliver food aid and exports for SDG 2.
• Economic and Political Pressures: The prospect of international trade tensions and tariffs threatens the stability of supply chains for essential crop inputs. This highlights a need for greater national self-sufficiency and resilient economic systems, in line with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
• Environmental and Resource Constraints: Declines in arable cropland and deteriorating soil health present significant obstacles. Addressing these issues is crucial for building climate resilience and promoting sustainable agriculture, which are central to SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
• Domestic Food Insecurity: Despite being a food-secure nation overall, a significant and growing number of Canadian households experience food insecurity. This represents a failure to meet SDG 2 targets domestically and underscores challenges related to SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Strategic Pathways to Enhance Canada’s Contribution to Global Food Security

Four primary areas require strategic intervention for Canada to achieve its potential as a food security superpower.

1. Investing in Resilient Infrastructure and Harmonizing Standards (SDG 9)

   Efficient supply chains are fundamental to food security. Current obstacles include:

   • Underinvestment: A lack of funding for physical and digital infrastructure creates vulnerabilities, where a single point of failure can disrupt national supply chains.
   • Internal Trade Barriers: Disparate interprovincial regulations on transportation and labor licensing create inefficiencies, raise costs, and inhibit productivity, directly conflicting with the principles of SDG 8. Eliminating these barriers is estimated to increase national productivity by 3.8 percent.

2. Diversifying Trade and Strengthening Global Partnerships (SDG 17)

   Canada’s export-oriented agri-food sector is overly reliant on a small number of trading partners. A strategic diversification is required to reduce vulnerability and enhance its global contribution.

   • Market Diversification: Building stronger trade relationships with a wider range of partners, particularly in growth markets across the Americas and globally, is essential for economic resilience (SDG 8).
   • Leveraging Trade Agreements: Using existing agreements as templates can facilitate expanded trade in nutrient-dense foods, directly supporting global efforts to achieve SDG 2.

3. Fostering Research, Development, and Technological Innovation (SDG 9)

   While Canada has a history of innovation, investment in agricultural R&D is declining. Reversing this trend is critical for sustainable productivity growth.

   • Incentivizing R&D: Government policy must encourage greater investment in innovation across the entire agri-food value chain to maintain competitiveness.
   • Embracing AgTech: Leveraging emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and improving digital infrastructure, such as rural broadband access, can revolutionize the sector. This supports SDG 9 by creating more efficient, sustainable, and climate-resilient systems, while also boosting GDP and addressing labor shortages in line with SDG 8.

4. Developing a Cohesive National Agri-Food Industrial Policy

   A strategic, systems-based approach is necessary to guide the agri-food sector. Such a policy must address future global demands and current domestic challenges.

   • Meeting Future Global Needs: The world will require significantly more food by 2035. A national strategy can position Canada to meet this demand sustainably, contributing to global targets for SDG 2.
   • Addressing Domestic Food Insecurity (SDG 10): A comprehensive policy must include social measures to support at-risk populations. Policies that boost incomes and provide social assistance are essential to reverse the trend of rising food insecurity within Canada and make progress on SDG 2 and SDG 10.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article on Canada’s potential as a food security superpower touches upon several interconnected issues that are directly relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The analysis identifies the following SDGs:

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger: This is the central theme of the article, which focuses on food security, agricultural productivity, and building a resilient agri-food system to feed both domestic and global populations.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: The article discusses the agri-food sector’s significant contribution to Canada’s GDP and employment, and how increasing productivity and removing trade barriers can foster economic growth.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: The text explicitly points out challenges related to underinvestment in physical (transportation) and digital (broadband) infrastructure, as well as the need for greater investment in research and development (R&D) and technology to boost competitiveness.
• SDG 15: Life on Land: The article mentions environmental challenges facing Canadian agriculture, including the decline of arable cropland and the deterioration of soil health, which are critical components of sustainable land management.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The discussion revolves around international trade, the need to diversify export markets, the role of free trade agreements, and the importance of collaboration between government, industry, and research institutions to achieve food security objectives.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the issues discussed, several specific SDG targets can be identified:

1. Under SDG 2 (Zero Hunger):
   • Target 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round. The article directly addresses this by highlighting that “Nearly ten million Canadians were reported as living in food insecure households in 2024.”
   • Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers. The article’s focus on “productivity growth,” generating “higher agriculture yields,” and overcoming constraints to enhance competitiveness aligns with this target.
   • Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change… The article calls for upgrading the agricultural sector’s “climate resilience” and addressing “deterioration of its soil health.”
2. Under SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth):
   • Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation. The article supports this by stating that eliminating internal trade barriers could “increase Canada’s productivity by 3.8 percent” and that embracing technology could “help grow Canada’s annual agricultural GDP by eight billion dollars.”
3. Under SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure):
   • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being. The article identifies “underinvestment in the country’s physical and digital infrastructure” and “transportation and logistics bottlenecks” as key obstacles.
   • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries…encouraging innovation. The article laments “limited funds for research and development (R&D)” and stresses that the government must incentivize innovation.
   • Target 9.c: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet. The article points to the need for “broadband accessibility and infrastructure across the vast rural and remote stretches of the country.”
4. Under SDG 15 (Life on Land):
   • Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world. This is directly referenced by the article’s mention of “declines in its arable cropland and a deterioration of its soil health.”
5. Under SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals):
   • Target 17.11: Significantly increase the exports of developing countries. While Canada is not a developing country, the principle of expanding and diversifying trade is central. The article advises that “Canada should diversify its export markets” and use free trade deals to “facilitate more agri-food trade in growth markets.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article provides several quantitative and qualitative indicators that can be used to measure progress:

• Indicator for Target 2.1: The prevalence of food insecurity. The article provides a direct metric: “Nearly ten million Canadians were reported as living in food insecure households in 2024, up from 5.8 million in 2021.”
• Indicator for Target 8.2: Annual growth rate of real GDP and sector-specific contributions. The article provides a potential productivity increase (“3.8 percent”), a potential GDP growth from technology (“eight billion dollars”), and the current contribution of the agri-food sector to GDP (“7.4 percent”) and jobs (“2.3 million”).
• Indicator for Target 9.1 & 9.c: Quality of infrastructure and access to technology. The article implies indicators such as investment levels in infrastructure and the percentage of the rural population with broadband access. It notes “underinvestment” and the need for improved “broadband accessibility.”
• Indicator for Target 9.5: R&D expenditure. The article implies this indicator by stating Canada has “limited funds for research and development (R&D)” and is “falling behind.”
• Indicator for Target 15.3: Proportion of land that is degraded. The article points to this through its qualitative description of “declines in its arable cropland and a deterioration of its soil health.”

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: atlanticcouncil.org