90 Agri-Food Projects in Ontario Receive Funding Boost
July 10, 2025 
The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $4.4 million under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) to help small businesses in the agri-food industry grow their businesses and enhance their food safety and traceability systems.
This funding will support 90 projects across the province through Ontario’s Food Safety and Growth Initiative, which helps protect workers and businesses by ensuring the industry can continue to thrive, respond to market and consumer demands, and keep workers on the job.
“Our producers and processors work hard to make sure our food meets the highest standards for safety and quality,” says Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald. “This great initiative is helping them adopt the latest technologies in traceability and food safety so they can respond to consumer demands, grow their operations, and put more money back into their pockets.”
Vision Greens Inc., in Welland, Ontario, is receiving up to $75,000 to purchase and install water filtration systems that will treat the water reaching their plants and increase food safety.
“Ontario’s agri-food industry produces world-class food products and our government is making investments to help local businesses grow their operations, create jobs and increase their exports,” says Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness Trevor Jones. “The Food Safety and Growth Initiative will help Ontario to further increase and diversify our agri-food exports to new markets, while strengthening the long-term competitiveness and growth of our local agri-food champions during this time of economic uncertainty.”
Under the initiative, eligible food processors, producers and service providers can receive up to $75,000 per project to improve food safety systems, adopt new food safety and traceability equipment, technologies and standards and provide related training to employees.
Sustainable CAP is a five-year, $3.5-billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation and resiliency of Canada’s agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5-billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.
About the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Agribusiness
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) delivers the Food Safety and Growth Initiative. Funding through the program, combined with cost-shared investments by the sector, is expected to generate approximately $15.5 million in total industry food safety enhancements.
Projects supported through this initiative include developing or improving food safety or traceability programs, upgrades to food safety or traceability equipment and technology upgrades, food or traceability assessments by qualified third-parties, or implementation of internationally or nationally recognized food safety programs, such as first-time certification audits.
For more information about OMAFA programs and services, reach out to the Agricultural Information Contact Center at [email protected].