Transition Materials for President (2026)

Mitigating risks to food safety is the CFIA's highest priority and the health and safety of Canadians is the driving force behind the design and development of CFIA programs. The CFIA, in collaboration and partnership with industry, consumers and federal, provincial and municipal organizations, continues to work towards protecting Canadians from preventable health risks related to food and zoonotic diseases.

The current and future economic prosperity of the Canadian agriculture and forestry sectors relies on a healthy and sustainable animal and plant resource base. As such, the CFIA is continually improving its program design and delivery in the animal health and plant resource areas in order to minimize and manage risks. In an effort to protect the natural environment from invasive animal and plant diseases and plant pests, the CFIA also performs extensive work related to the protection of environmental biodiversity.

As a regulator, the CFIA is responsible for the full or partial administration and enforcement of the following acts and regulations:

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act
  • Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations
• Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act
  • Food Inspection Agency Fees Notice
• Feeds Act
  • Feeds Regulations, 2024
• Fertilizers Act
  • Fertilizers Regulations
• Food and Drugs Act
  • Food and Drug Regulations (as it relates to food - Part B)
• Health of Animals Act
  • Compensation for Destroyed Animals and Things Regulations
  • Export Inspection and Certification Exemption Regulations
  • Health of Animals Regulations
  • Reportable Diseases Regulations
• Plant Breeders' Rights Act Plant
  • Breeders' Rights Regulations
• Plant Protection Act
  • Plant Protection Regulations
  • Potato Wart Compensation Regulations, 2003
• Safe Food for Canadians Act
  • Safe Food for Canadians Regulations
• Seeds Act
  • Seeds Regulations
  • Weed Seeds Order, 2016

Note: The CFIA also works in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) in the co-regulation of Canadian laboratories who work with zoonotic pathogens under the Health of Animals Act and Regulations (administered and enforced by the CFIA) and the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act and Regulations (administered and enforced by the PHAC).

The agency nests within the health and agriculture portfolios.

Minister of Health

Responsibilities

• Overall agency direction
• Corporate business Plans (approving/tabling) and annual reports
• Developing policies and recommending regulations related to food safety

Legislative authorities

Food safety

• Food and Drugs Act
• Safe Food for Canadians Act

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Responsibilities

• Non-food safety legislation for example, market access and trade, animal health, plant protection)
• Administration and enforcement of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act and the following

Legislative authorities

Plants

• Fertilizers Act
• Seed Act
• Plant Protection Act
• Plant Breeders' Rights Act

Animals

• Feeds Act
• Health of Animals Act

Standards of identity for food

• Food and Drugs Act
• Safe Food for Canadians Act

General responsibilities

• Responsible Minister for the CFIA under the CFIA Act, meaning the Minister has overall strategic direction of the agency
• Accountable to Parliament for all CFIA actions and decisions
• Oversees and provides strategic direction on food safety policy and standards. Responsible for approving and tabling CFIA's corporate business plans and annual reports in Parliament
• Serves as the appropriate Minister for the CFIA under the Financial Administration Act (FAA), responsible for seeking appropriations and overseeing financial matters related to the agency

Authority over food safety and regulation-making

• Exercises powers, duties and functions under any act of Parliament related to food safety enforced by the CFIA
• Has the authority to develop policies and recommend regulations on food safety, including under
  • Safe Food for Canadians Act
  • Food and Drugs Act (as it pertains to food)
• Has the power to order product recalls under the CFIA Act if a regulated product poses a risk to public, animal, or plant health

Delegation of powers

• May delegate specific statutory powers to CFIA officials, except for
  • the power to make regulations
  • the power to delegate further under Section 4(2) of the CFIA Act (except the power to make regulations)
• Remains politically accountable for the exercise of delegated authorities by CFIA officials

General responsibilities

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food does not have direct responsibility for the CFIA as an Agency. However, they retain responsibility for certain program legislation related to plant and animal health, including:

• Health of Animals Act
• Plant Protection Act
• Plant Breeders' Rights Act
• Seeds Act
• Feeds Act
• Fertilizers Act

The Minister is accountable for CFIA's enforcement of regulations concerning the humane treatment of animals prior to slaughter under the Safe Food for Canadians Act.

Plays a crucial role in promoting trade and economic growth in the agriculture in specific circumstances.

Policy and regulatory responsibilities

• Develops policy and recommends regulations related to plant and animal health
• May propose regulations under CFIA-enforced Acts, but if there is overlap with food safety, the Minister of Health is generally responsible

Delegation of powers

• May delegate statutory authorities related to plant and animal health to CFIA officials
• Retains political accountability for the exercise of any delegated authorities

Pursuant to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act, the President is the Chief Executive Officer of the agency with authority to:

• supervise and direct the agency's work and staff
• provide leadership, promote collaboration, encourage innovation and a results-oriented organizational environment
• support the Minister of Health and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in fulfilling their responsibilities

With a vision to excel as a science-based regulator, trusted and respected by Canadians and the international community, the CFIA is dedicated to mitigating risks to food safety, protecting plant and animal resources and facilitating trade.

Responsibilities

• Food safety
• International trade
• Animal health
• Plant health

Roles

• Regulator
  • Enforce food, plant and animal-related acts and regulations set by the CFIA
  • Also support regulations set by Health Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
• Risk mitigation and emergency management
  • Manage emergencies and mitigate various risks related to food, animals and plants with possible impacts to public health, economics and the environment
• Facilitating trade and industry compliance
  • Improve the regulatory interface with industry and trading partners

Safeguarding Canada's food supply

• Includes health, safety and labelling
• Administering/enforcing Safe Food for Canadians Act and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations and Food and Drugs Act and Food and Drug Regulations (as it relates to food safety) that Health Canada establishes
• Shared responsibility between the CFIA, industry, international partners, Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Canada, as well as municipal, provincial and territorial authorities

Minimizing health and safety risks to Canadians

• Protecting Canadians from preventable Food safety hazards and managing food safety investigations and recalls
• Establishing biosafety standards for Canadian laboratories and other facilities handling zoonotic pathogens and toxins, issuing regulatory permissions and monitoring biocontainment compliance

Contributing to consumer protection

• Ensuring that information presented to Canadians, via labels and advertising, is accurate and devoid of misleading claims

Facilitating trade

• Enabling trade for the agricultural sector as the sole competent authority in Canada responsible for administrating and enforcing regulations for the import and export of animal, plant and food products

Supporting market access for Canadian agriculture and agri-food

• Issuing export certificates, import permits and conducting inspections and lab testing for imports and exports
• Influencing the development of international rules and standards for plant protection, animal health and food safety through participation and engagement at international standard-setting bodies (World Organisation for Animal Health, Codex Alimentarius Commission, International Plant Protection Convention) and the World Trade Organization
• Engaging with trading partners to negotiate import/export conditions, free trade agreements (sanitary and phytosanitary measures) and standards
• Strengthening international cooperation by regulatory cooperation and delivering technical assistance on animal health, plant health and food safety to other countries (for example, training on Canada's regulatory systems and clarifying import requirements)
• Working in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Global Affairs Canada

Protecting Canada's animal resources and public health of Canadians

• Protecting Canada's animals, including aquatic animals, from diseases
• Protecting Canadians from zoonotic diseases by adopting an integrated One-Health approach

Minimizing risks to Canada's terrestrial and aquatic animal resources and ensuring the safety of animal feeds, products and vaccines

• Managing animal disease incidents and emergencies (for example, African swine fever), including diseases that may also threaten human health (for example, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, chronic wasting disease, highly pathogenic avian influenza)
• Promoting and regulating animal welfare, in transportation and humane slaughter
• Verifying that animal feeds and vaccines are safe and effective
• Establishing biosafety standards for Canadian laboratories and other facilities handling animal pathogens and toxins (including aquatic and bees), issuing regulatory permissions and monitoring biocontainment compliance

Protecting Canada's plant resources

• Includes crops, horticulture, nurseries, forest resources and products, greenhouses, seeds, fertilizers and plants with novel traits

Protecting plant life and the agricultural and forestry sectors of the Canadian economy

• Preventing the importation, exportation and spread of pests and by controlling or eradicating pests in Canada
• Verifying that farmers have access to safe, effective and innovative agricultural inputs (for example, seed, fertilizer) that support environmental sustainability
• Fostering innovation through protection of intellectual property (in other words, plant breeders' rights)
• Preserving Canada's global reputation for agricultural products as high-quality, free from pests and safe
• Establishing biosafety standards for Canadian laboratories and other facilities handling plant pests, issuing regulatory permissions and monitoring biocontainment compliance

A food incident occurs when there is reason to believe that food is unsafe or that it does not comply with federal acts and regulations. In response, CFIA initiates a 5-step process to investigate and determine if a food recall is necessary. A food recall is the removal of a food from further sale or use, or the correction of its label, at any point in the supply chain, as a risk mitigation action.

1. Trigger

Starts a food safety investigation (for example, complaint, CFIA inspection activities, surveillance sample, company-initiated action).

2. Food safety investigation

Confirms the hazard and extent of the problem, identifies the root cause and collects information for a risk assessment.

3. Risk assessment

Determines the level of health risk posed by the product. Conducted by Health Canada (HC) or within CFIA if HC policy/guideline exists.

4. Recall process

Determines if recall is required and issues a recall warning where necessary. The recalling firm is responsible for conducting the recall. CFIA verifies the effectiveness of the recall. Additional (secondary) recalls may be required.

5. Follow-up

Works with the regulated party to ensure that any problems that led to the recall are resolved, as well as with industry sectors or foreign countries to address broader incidents that go beyond the recalling firm or sector.

On average, CFIA conducts 2,837 food safety investigations and oversees 154 food recall incidents each year.

The CFIA plays an important role in pre-market research, review, approval and licensing in protecting animal and plant health, as well as bolstering sector growth and trade.

Examples of CFIA's role and responsibilities

• The agency is the regulatory authority for veterinary vaccines and animal feeds in Canada, responsible for pre-market assessment of veterinary vaccines and livestock feeds to ensure they are safe and effective to keep animals healthy and minimize the impacts of diseases
• The CFIA is also responsible for research authorizations, approvals and registrations of plant varieties, seed cleaners and fertilizer and supplement products in support of market access and innovation while protecting the environment. In addition, granting intellectual property rights for new plant varieties is crucial to drive investment, innovation and growth in Canada's agriculture, horticulture and ornamental sectors

The agency activates an emergency response plan when the required response is expected to exceed normal operational capacities or is particularly complex and requires enhanced coordination and communications.

CFIA is responsible for managing 2 types of emergencies:

• mandate-specific (for example, food safety, animal, or plant health emergencies)
• non-mandate-specific (for example, infrastructure or other public welfare emergencies)

Emergency response requires multiple organizations to work alongside each other effectively. In cases involving a federally reportable animal disease, plant pest, or hazard controlled by the CFIA, the agency is considered to be a primary stakeholder with overarching legislative authority for the response measures, working closely with key stakeholders (for example, federal and provincial-territorial partners, industry, indigenous groups, scientists, consumers).

• In 2024 to 2025, the CFIA concurrently responded to HPAI, MSX of oysters and Bovine TB
• In 2024 to 2025, the CFIA strengthened its emergency response toolkit by expanding early detection, advancing vaccine readiness, enhancing laboratory capacity and standardizing response frameworks for major animal and plant health threats

Emergency Management Framework – Text version

In the CFIA Emergency Management Framework, once an emergent threat is identified the agency can take action to prevent and mitigate it. The next step is to prepare and if the emergency event is realized, respond. Following the response, the agency will recover and simultaneously feed back into preparing for the next event.

Context

• The U.S. is Canada's most important market for agriculture and food products. Over 50% of Canada's agriculture and seafood production is exported. Of that, 61.8% (CA$62.0B) is exported to the United States, while 52.5% (CA$39.6B) of Canadian agriculture and seafood imports come from the U.S.
• The Trump administration adopted a more protectionist approach to trade, leading to tariffs and heightened tensions that affected Canada–U.S. trade stability and Canadian businesses. The administration also issued Executive Orders aimed at reducing federal bureaucracy and the size of the U.S. public service and signalled plans to review or eliminate certain federal regulations–measures that could affect activities under the CFIA's mandate
• The CFIA monitors changes to U.S. regulatory processes that could impact trade or the delivery of CFIA's mandate to protect food safety, plant health and animal health and communicate these changes to relevant decision-makers and stakeholders as required
• Through a second Canada Gazette consultation completed in late fall 2025, Canadians emphasized the need to preserve a predictable, tariff free North American market, strengthen resilience to geopolitical and other external shocks and pursue pragmatic trade diversification to reduce reliance on a single market while maintaining the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). This aligns with the Government of Canada's prioritization of trade diversification in response to instability in the Canada–U.S. trading relationship

Current status

• The CUSMA review is scheduled for July 1, 2026. Though the scope and process for the Review have not been defined, the CFIA is working with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Global Affairs Canada, through a streamlined structure, to prepare for all eventualities
• [redacted]
• [redacted]
• In support of Canada's trade diversification agenda, the CFIA advances food exports and market access by providing technical expertise, co-leading the negotiation and implementation of SPS chapters in free trade agreements and supporting the resolution of trade related disputes

Next steps

• The CFIA will continue to monitor developments in U.S. food safety, plant health and animal health programs, taking appropriate actions as needed to protect Canada's food supply and agricultural resources
• Canada and Mexico are planning bilateral CUSMA discussions in May, with a trilateral meeting anticipated later in the spring
• As preparations for CUSMA negotiations advance, the CFIA will continue to support the growth of Canadian agricultural sectors in non‑U.S. markets–both existing and emerging–by facilitating market access and addressing technical barriers to trade

Lead Branch: Policy, Trade and Business Enablement Branch

Context

• On November 19, 2025, the regulations developed under Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act (FTMLCA) were published in Canada Gazette, Part II providing an exception for food under the Safe Food for Canadians Actand maintaining the federal rules as the basis for interprovincial trade of food
• Under the Act, provincial or territorial requirements for the movement of goods, services and labour within Canada are deemed comparable to federal requirements when the conditions outlined in the supporting regulations are met
• In addition, with support from stakeholders and provincial and territorial partners, the Government of Canada is improving internal food trade by enhancing CFIA's client services to help businesses obtain a federal food licence to trade. The CFIA is also addressing known barriers by introducing targeted exemptions under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) to expand access to provincial slaughter capacity in underserved areas

Current status

• To fulfil the government's commitment to increasing internal trade in food, the CFIA has advanced work in several different areas:
  • direct support to businesses: The CFIA launched a concierge model to help businesses begin interprovincial trade. Since summer 2025, 30 small and medium-sized businesses – including 10 in the Ready to Grow pilot – have received support and several have already obtained federal licences. Meat and Poultry Ontario has identified 40 additional meat businesses that may be interested in interprovincial trade and using the concierge service. Across Canada, an estimated 4,000 small businesses could participate. The CFIA is also working with provincial industry associations to identify interested businesses and connect them with support
  • [redacted]
  • [redacted]

Next steps

• Building on work to date showing that the federal food system enables business activity and strengthens food security, the CFIA will continue to create an enabling regulatory environment through various methods, such as providing exemption for unmet slaughter capacity, modernizing food origin labelling and removing unnecessary requirements for fresh fruit and vegetable grades and container sizes
• [redacted]
• [redacted]

Lead Branch: Food Safety and Science Branch

Annex A: Aide mémoire – Internal trade risks and options

Executive summary

Canada faces a critical policy challenge: how to increase interprovincial trade in food, particularly for small and medium‑sized businesses, while preserving the integrity of the federal food safety system that delivers safe food, provides international market access and reduces reliance on US markets through trade diversification.

Provincial and territorial food safety systems have critical gaps and do not meet international standards that trading partners expect. Allowing internal trade under provincial or territorial standards would risk international trust in Canada's system, jeopardize exports, hinder trade diversification and displace Canadian food products by low quality imports.

Introduction

The CFIA is the federal regulator responsible for enforcing compliance with the Food and Drugs Act and the Safe Food for Canadians Act and their regulations. These federal rules apply to food that is imported, exported or traded interprovincially, protecting the safety of food and consumers. The CFIA also has a mandate to facilitate trade by supporting market access for Canadian agriculture and agri-food products.

The CFIA is advancing two key government priorities: increasing internal trade and expanding international trade opportunities. A strong federal food safety system that is based on international standards is essential for both goals. This system serves as the foundation for interprovincial trade and gives our trading partners confidence that Canadian products meet internationally agreed standards. As we continue to reduce internal trade barriers and expand market access, the CFIA must preserve the integrity of the federal system to achieve these objectives.

Canada's National Food Safety System is based on international standards

The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) apply to meat, fish and seafood, dairy, eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetables, honey, maple products and manufactured food. The SFCR exempts certain food categories, including alcoholic beverages, raw agricultural commodities intended for processing (such as grains and pulses) and certain fresh fruit and vegetables sold directly by growers and harvesters.

SFCR and international standards

The SFCR is grounded in internationally recognised standards, making international trade easier. These standards – set by Codex Alimentarius (Codex) for food and by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) for animal health – are referenced in agreements Canada has signed, including the World Trade Organization's (WTO) agreement on food safety and various Free Trade Agreements. They serve as a foundation for resolving trade disputes at the WTO.

The CFIA has achieved significant success in establishing trust with its trading partners due to the effectiveness of Canada's national food safety system. Trading partners permit the export of food and food products from Canada because of this robust system, which features a strong regulatory framework (SFCA and SFCR), independent oversight by a competent authority (CFIA), inspection and certification procedures, laboratories, surveillance, emergency response capabilities and mechanisms for continuous improvement.

The SFCR's continued conformity with international standards allows Canada to defend this access when audited by foreign governments, which protects Canadian access to export markets. SFCR conformity with international standards also enables the CFIA to hold imported food to the same high standards as food produced in Canada. This protects the health and safety of Canadian consumers and the competitiveness of Canadian businesses from lower quality and lower cost imports from countries with less robust food safety systems. For example, Canada has not recognized certain eastern European and Asian countries to have a comparable national food control system for imports of meat and meat products and therefore do not allow imports from these countries into Canada.

Current trade within Canada

Federal food safety and consumer protection requirements apply to all foods for export, import and for interprovincial trade. Federal food regulations demonstrate the rigor of the Canadian food safety system to our international partners and are the foundation for $65B (annually) in food exports (see Annex 1 for more details).

The CFIA currently issues over 20,000 Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licences (see Annex 4 for breakdown) to regulated parties engaged in the export, import or interprovincial trade of food and provides oversight for federally regulated establishments in nine food sectors.

To assess the scope of the interprovincial manufacturing sector, the CFIA analyzed SFC licensing data alongside Statistics Canada's Business Register (January 2025). About 4,000 businesses were identified to operate without an SFC licence, reflecting businesses that trade solely within provincial or territorial markets.

According to Statistics Canada and CFIA calculations, the SFCR enables at least 61% of domestically produced foods to trade interprovincially or exported in 2022, with limitations for supply‑managed products. The data shows that a significant share of food already moves beyond the provincial and territorial borders they are produced in. This share may in fact be higher, as some food produced by federally licensed establishments is sold in the province or territory where it is produced and is not captured in this analysis. The breakdown of this trade by major food category is as follows:

• meat products: 59% were traded interprovincially or exported
  • cut beef, veal and pork: 74%
  • cut poultry: 40% (supply‑managed); and
  • other meat products, including processed meats: 51%
• dairy products: 42%
  • milk (unprocessed and fluid): 33% (supply‑managed); and
  • other dairy products (such as butter, cheese and ice cream): 57%
• processed fruits and vegetables: 71%
• fresh fruits and vegetables: 72%
• fish and seafood: 76%; and
• eggs in shell: 27% (supply‑managed)

Interprovincial and international trade

Food traded exclusively within provincial or territorial boundaries remains subject to provincial and territorial food safety regimes. Under WTO rules, any trade between provinces and territories must meet the same standard required for international trade, which is reflected in federal regulations. This means that the SFCR facilitates internal trade in Canada while protecting international trade. However, international trade agreements which include the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Article 3) prevent Canada and its trading partners from providing preferential treatment for domestic products relative to comparable imported products.

If Canada were to maintain the SFCR requirements for imported foods while permitting interprovincial trade to operate under varying provincial standards, this would amount to treating domestic products more favorably than imports. Such an approach would violate Canada's obligations and could be challenged by trading partners. In addition, like-minded trading partners, such as the European Union (EU), Australia, New Zealand and the United States (US), also comply with these same obligations.

For instance, US regulations do not permit any interstate trade of any food through state level food systems. The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA)' Cooperative Interstate Inspection Program', which applies to inter-state trade in meat and poultry only, allow products to be traded between states when they are inspected by state governments against US federal requirements.

There are 1,450 small (that is to say, less than 25 employees) meat and poultry businesses participating in the program and these businesses still have the option to meet state requirements when selling food within their home state. The cost of the US Cooperative Interstate Inspection Program is shared between the federal government and participating state governments, with the federal government providing a total of US$50 M (annually) to the 30 states that participate in the program.

International trade – Context and key considerations

The CFIA works with other countries to agree on health and safety rules so Canadian products can be sold abroad – according to AAFC, Canada exported to over 200 countries in 2024. To do this, CFIA works closely with federal partners including Global Affairs Canada (leads trade negotiations), Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC), Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), to support Canada's overall trade and economic priorities.

Canada is required to inform its trading partners (via the WTO) if it makes changes to its food regulations and its national food safety system and countries routinely monitor the Canadian system for changes. For example, during the development of the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act (FTLMCA), the USDA was actively following this work through its embassy in Ottawa and Canada was asked about the implications of this on the margins of international meetings. The US has one of the most stringent import requirements for meat and meat products and any changes to Canada's national system may trigger an evaluation of Canada's system and introduce barriers to exports of meat and meat products to the US (currently 60% of meat exports is to the US and is valued at $6.5B).

Export certification and market access

Canada's ability to export food is contingent on the trust that foreign regulators have in our national food safety system. For Canadian companies to gain market access, the CFIA must demonstrate to a foreign regulator that it has regulations in place that meet international standards and a strong system of domestic controls. This includes a system to licence facilities, preventive control requirements, traceability, oversight by independent competent authorities (CFIA) and inspection and certification systems to address risks of animal disease and food safety issues.

The CFIA negotiates export requirements, issues export certificates, manages audits by foreign authorities and conducts laboratory testing to maintain and expand market access for Canadian food. The CFIA's export certification provides official assurance to many trading partners that the food meets standards and requirements that were established during market access negotiations. CFIA certification of exported food products is a condition of entry that must be presented with customs documentation at the time of import (Annex 3 for more detail).

Countries importing from Canada regularly audit Canada to confirm that its standards continue to align with relevant international requirements, as well as specific conditions established under the SFCR and through bilateral agreements for the US and major non-US export markets, such as the EU, China, Japan and South Korea.

Once confidence in Canada's system is established, countries may require approval of individual establishments or impose specific certification conditions. For example, the US (meat export value: $6.5B) requires continuous veterinary presence at slaughter facilities and daily inspector presence in meat processing plants.

China (meat export value: $473M) requires strict segregation of ineligible products from those destined for its market. After market access is granted, federally licensed establishments remain subject to periodic foreign audits (for example, Japan audits Canada's system annually) to ensure ongoing confidence. A minor non-compliance or deviance from these types of negotiated requirements can result in trade disruptions or an outright closure of a foreign market, which would have significant impacts on Canadian exporters.

Major export destinations for food and seafood products include the US (46%), China (15%), Japan (8%), EU (6.5%) and Mexico (3%). These exports represent a significant portion of Canada's GDP and employment. In 2024, exports of food and seafood products from Canada was valued at $65 B (Annex 2).

In 2024 to 2025, the CFIA issued a total of 231,266 export certificates:

• 2,685 in dairy
• 39,559 in fish
• 5,486 in egg
• 19,587 in fresh fruits and vegetables
• 126 in processed fruit and vegetables (for example, jams, pickles, etc.)
• 20 in honey
• 5 in maple
• 162,868 in meat/poultry; and
• 930 in manufactured foods

Facilitating imports

Just as countries that import from Canada audit the Canadian system, the CFIA conducts audits of countries exporting or looking to export food and related products to Canada, to verify that they meet our domestic standards for food safety and animal health.

The major countries from which Canada imports food include the US (50% of imports in 2024), Mexico (12%), the EU (5%), China (4%) and Chile (3%). In 2024, the Canada import of food and seafood products is valued at $57 B (Annex 2).

Trade diversification – Ongoing efforts

To support our trade diversification objectives, Canada is currently negotiating or maintaining equivalency for meat inspection systems with several key trading partners, including:

• The EU: Canada has had equivalence with the EU since 1999 for export of meat and meat product and the market is valued at $26 M
• Australia: In July 2025, the CFIA successfully re-opened this market for Canadian beef and beef products for the first time since Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was detected in Canada in 2003
• Indonesia: The CFIA recently gained market access for pork and pork products and increased its existing access for beef to Indonesia. Indonesia imports $1.1 B in beef and $42 M in pork annually from all countries

CFIA oversight of food safety and imports/exports

The CFIA is unique in Canada because it is the authority with the technical expertise and capacity to operationalize a national set of regulations that apply to food businesses that are importing and exporting food and trading interprovincially. While provincial and territorial systems may have some elements of the federal system, none have the complete set of regulatory and operational tools required to facilitate exports and ensure food safety.

To provide comprehensive oversight of the food system, the CFIA delivers a national inspection program designed to protect food safety and to maintain domestic and foreign confidence in Canada's food production system. The CFIA uses several tools to verify that food and food businesses comply with the SFCR and FDR and prohibit the sale of unsafe food. The regulations include requirements to ensure food safety, which include mandatory licensing, preventive controls and testing and traceability for all food produced, imported and exported from Canada.

Inspection and sampling activities are delivered by 1,747 food inspectors and veterinarians who meet specific educational standards and complete extensive onboarding, technical training and program‑specific learning. Provinces and territories do not have this type of inspection capacity to provide the daily oversight of food that conforms to international standards. The CFIA is also distinctive as it maintains a network of diagnostic and reference laboratories across Canada that conduct food safety testing activities for domestically produced and imported food and support food exports when testing is required to meet foreign country requirements.

The agency's oversight of food establishments is implemented through the Standard Inspection Process (SIP), which includes daily inspection presence for meat, prescribes testing frequencies for microbiological contamination for higher risk foods and verification of specific food safety controls (for example, pasteurization of canned food). There is no provincial or territorial system that has a comprehensive system of inspection that applies to all food, including delivering the following key tasks:

• food business inspections/food commodity inspections: In 2025, the CFIA conducted 288,000 food inspection activities, including inspections of food businesses to verify that they meet SFCR and FDR requirements for food safety, including having controls in place to address risks, testing for pathogens and to ensure that food traceability requirements are met. For example, CFIA inspectors verify that controls are in place to ensure sanitation, hygiene, equipment, facility conditions, transportation and recall readiness
• inspections for export certification: The CFIA conducts additional inspections to issue export certificates to satisfy foreign market requirements, including exporter eligibility, BSE controls, humane handling of animals, process verification, or other specialized export programs
• food sample collection and testing: In 2025 the CFIA took 30,168 samples of food to test for chemical contaminants (for example, allergens), microbiological contamination (for example, E. coli) and composition (for example, authenticity). Some of this testing is conducted to ensure that Canada has continued access to foreign markets
• food recalls: When there is reason to believe that food is unsafe or does not follow federal regulations, the CFIA initiates a process to investigate and determine if a recall is necessary. In 2025, the CFIA conducted 160 recalls. The CFIA provides this service to provinces and territories since their systems do not have regulations enabling recalls or technical capacity to assess food risks posed in recall situations

Provincial and Territorial Food Systems

Provincial and territorial food safety systems do not have the same capacity, expertise and rigour as CFIA's approach. While many food products are already produced under federal oversight, provincial systems have persistent regulatory and inspection gaps.

During the 2025 FTLMCA consultations, provincial and territorial Agriculture Ministers recognized the importance of meat exports for Canada's economy. They also expressed concerns that allowing meat trade under provincial regulations could result in serious and unintended economic impacts, especially in Western provinces like Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba which have sectors (for example, beef) that are very sensitive to trade issues.

Across all commodities, there are significant gaps in provincial regulations and inspection capacity when compared to the federal system. An assessment of provincial rules completed by the CFIA and an independent benchmarking of provincial meat regulations (completed by Serecon) commissioned by the Government of Alberta have both shown that critical gaps exist in provincial and territorial systems, including (See Annex 5 for more details):

• lack of requirements for businesses to document their assessments of food safety risks and associated control measures
• food safety controls are not required across all food commodities
• lack of requirements for ante- and post-mortem inspections at slaughter and lack of mandatory veterinary presence
• no requirement for pathogen testing (for example, Listeria, E. coli, salmonella) for all high-risk foods
• some provincial regulations are outdated or reference repealed federal regulations; and
• some have limited inspection capacity and/or inspection systems rely on public health-style inspections that are not suited to complex food production systems (that is to say, animal slaughter, processed foods)

Provincial regulations on labelling and packaging vary widely and they are missing critical components for safety, such as requirements for food hazard assessments, documented food safety controls, traceability and mandatory Listeria testing. There are key deficiencies among provincial systems for all CFIA-regulated foods.

For meat, some provinces and territories have meat regulations; however, they lack critical components for safety, such as veterinary presence at slaughter facilities, ante mortem and post-mortem inspection, comprehensive mandatory pathogen testing and mandatory food safety controls that are found in federal requirements.

Regarding manufactured food, many provinces do not have food safety regulations specific for this broad category of foods. The provinces that do have regulations have general requirements which are limited and not comparable to federal requirements for a full food hazard analysis and for food safety controls to be documented. In addition, across all provinces, there is limited capacity for inspections, enforcement and recalls for these products.

For fish and seafood, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador require their provincial businesses to meet the SFCR requirements as a condition for provincial licensing which means these businesses can already trade interprovincially. However, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have no regulations for this sector and provinces that do have regulations for fish and seafood are missing core food safety requirements, enforcement and labelling components.

There are also significant gaps in provincial oversight for fresh fruit and vegetables. British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador do not have regulations for these foods.

The provinces that do have regulations for fresh fruits and vegetables have significant gaps in their systems. Ontario, Québec and New Brunswick do not have recall rules for these foods; in addition, Québec lacks traceability requirements and both Québec and New Brunswick are missing pathogen testing and preventative control measures. There is also considerable variation in provincial packaging and labelling requirements.

The situation is similar for processed fruit and vegetables. While provinces generally have basic regulations that apply to processed fruit or vegetable products, their systems lack food safety requirements, traceability requirements and there are significant gaps in terms of inspection oversight and enforcement and labelling.

Risks to lowering Canadian domestic standards

Lowering Canada's domestic standards to allow the movement of food between provinces would put Canadian agri-food exports at risk. Any changes to Canada's federal food safety system must consider unintended consequences.

Canada's top non-US destinations for meat and meat products include Japan, Mexico, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Hong Kong. These markets routinely evaluate Canada's food safety system. Once access to a market is lost, it can take years to re-open.

For instance, it has taken Canada over 20 years to regain access to the Australian market due to concerns over BSE. Keeping the SFCR requirements, which are based on WOAH and Codex standards, is essential to safeguard Canada's export markets. This is particularly important for the meat industry as it seeks to expand and diversify its international trade opportunities away from the US.

Lowering domestic standards could result in Canada no longer being able to prevent imports from countries with less rigorous food safety systems. For example, an audit conducted in the EU (2019) found that Cyprus, Bulgaria and Greece were not implementing bovine, swine and poultry meat inspection systems (for example, lack of veterinary presence for ante-mortem/post-mortem inspection) in a manner determined to be equivalent to that of Canada and were therefore denied market access.

More recently, an audit conducted in Colombia (2024) found that the country's food safety system for meat did not provide at least the same level of protection as Canada's system and therefore denied market access. If Canada loses the ability to prevent these imports, Canadian businesses will lose market share to imports from these and other lower cost (lower quality) producing countries.

Stakeholders concerns

The concerns about risks to trade are shared by industry stakeholders who continue to advocate for the preservation of federal food safety rules. Several industry groups, including the Canadian Meat Council, Food and Beverage Canada, Retail Council of Canada, Canadian Poultry and Egg Producers of Canada, Canadian Association of Regulated Importers and Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters have warned that lowering federal standards or allowing interprovincial trade under the 13 different provincial and territorial systems could jeopardize both food safety and international trade.

The Canadian Supply Chain Food Safety Coalition, a group that unites all national food safety associations, along with Food, Health and Consumer Products of Canada, representing food manufacturers, have both highlighted concerns about gaps in provincial systems. Specifically, they note that provincial systems often lack mandatory preventive control plans, established recall procedures and robust traceability measures, required to make them comparable to the federal system.

The Canadian Cattle Association also warns that weakening federal meat regulations could jeopardize current exports and efforts to expand into new markets, as it may lead to increased imports from countries with less stringent standards. These views are shared by individual meat companies such as Maple Leaf Foods, Cargill, Maple Lodge Farms, Exceldor Cooperative and the Progressive Group of Companies.

What Canada is doing to improve internal trade

The Government of Canada introduced the FTLMCA in June 2025 to help remove federal barriers to trade between provinces and territories. However, after hearing concerns from industry and businesses about the potential risks to international trade – especially during this period – the government decided to exempt all food products regulated under the SFCA from the FTLMCA. This exception maintained federal standards for interprovincial trade of food and paved the way for CFIA to advance its efforts in internal trade of food under existing authorities of the SFCA and SFCR.

Since early 2025, the CFIA has been using funding announced in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement ($4.3M over three years ending in 2027 to 2028) to incrementally increase its internal trade activities, including work with provinces and territories on two pilot projects to support internal trade of meat in Canada.

In partnership with the Province of Ontario and Meat and Poultry Ontario, the CFIA is offering personalized guidance and direct support to ten small Ontario businesses chosen for the Ready to Grow Pilot, assisting them in navigating federal requirements for obtaining a Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence for interprovincial trade. Through this pilot, the CFIA has learned that there are many misconceptions and misunderstandings about the requirements of the SFCR, particularly among small and medium sized businesses. The CFIA has discovered that businesses are not aware of the flexibilities that exist in the SFCR and, as a result, assume that the costs of compliance are higher than they are.

To address this, the CFIA has taken action to create an Internal Trade Hub on its website, providing a central point for a business to find information on how to obtain an SFC licence, along with tips and tools (for example, checklists to help small businesses navigate the licencing process).

The CFIA is also providing clear and accessible information to help address and correct any misconceptions or confusion regarding the requirements and steps needed to obtain a licence. This approach has allowed the CFIA to support a variety of companies in the licensing process. For example, CFIA support has allowed a Québec halal slaughter facility to obtain a licence. In addition, the CFIA has worked with a small company in British Columbia making soups and a Sobey's central kitchen facility in Alberta to navigate the licensing process (see Annex 6 for more details).

The feedback received from the Ready to Grow Pilot work has been extremely positive – businesses appreciate the tailored guidance to help them understand the gaps and identify workable solutions. Through this pilot, Meat and Poultry Ontario have identified 40 additional businesses that may be interested in expanding their businesses to trade interprovincially and that could benefit from obtaining tailored guidance from the CFIA.

[redacted]

In consultations with provinces and territories and industry stakeholders, the only regulatory barrier that has been identified is a lack of access to federally licensed slaughter capacity in certain areas. [redacted]

Opportunities for more interprovincial trade of food

There is already a high degree of interprovincial food movement within Canada. Statistics Canada data (Table 1, below) indicates that a substantial proportion of domestically produced food can move freely across provincial boundaries, including approximately three quarters of red meat cuts, fish and seafood and fresh fruits and vegetables.

This suggests that Canada's internal food market is not broadly constrained by federal regulation and that existing frameworks already support considerable domestic trade. At the same time, domestic demand for food products is increasingly being met through imports. This demonstrates that there may be an opportunity to support provincially licensed businesses to facilitate their entry into the federal system, which would allow them to serve other provincial markets.

Canada is also deeply integrated into global food markets and is a major importer and exporter of food products. Recent data (Table 1) show domestic exports food of approximately $65B alongside imports of $57B. These two-way flows reflect not only production capacity, but also consumer preferences, product differentiation, seasonal availability and specialization across food categories.

From a food security standpoint, the strong demand for imported food products also highlights potential market opportunities for Canadian producers, particularly where product diversification, quality differentiation, or extended seasonal availability could better align domestic supply with consumer demand. In many cases, the constraint is not food safety or market demand, but the ability of businesses to scale beyond a single provincial market and meet federal licensing requirements proportionate to their size and capacity.

Within the food and non-alcoholic beverage manufacturing sector, approximately 4,000 operate under a provincial licence and could potentially benefit from interprovincial market access. Nearly all (98.7%) are micro or small‑sized enterprises employing fewer than 100 people.

Notably, more than half of the non-SFC licenced businesses (2,134) are in the manufactured food industry (for example, commercial bakeries, coffee and tea manufacturing, frozen food manufacturing). Assistance could be offered to help these businesses comply with the SFCR and engage in interprovincial trade; however, it is anticipated that uptake would be uneven, as many small businesses may determine that the costs and operational demands associated with expansion outweigh the potential commercial benefits.

Any potential gains from increased interprovincial trade are therefore likely to be incremental and uneven across sectors and regions. This underscores the need for any additional internal trade initiatives to seriously consider the risks that would be introduced to lucrative and established export markets and further trade diversification efforts.

Taken together, current data suggest that Canada's internal food market is already relatively open, but that targeted expansion of interprovincial market access, particularly for small and medium‑sized food businesses, could strengthen domestic supply chains and modestly reduce reliance on imports in selected categories, provided that regulatory uptake and compliance capacity are addressed in a proportionate and risk-based manner.

[redacted]

Conclusion

Canada's food system is positioned to support broader economic and security goals. Strengthening interprovincial trade can drive economic growth, improve Canadian food security and increase resilience of domestic supply chains.

It is possible to leverage federal food rules to expand internal trade in food without compromising Canada's internationally credible federal food safety system. The evidence is clear – provincial and territorial food safety systems do not meet the standards required by our trading partners and any dilution (or perceived dilution) of federal requirements would trigger real risks to billions of dollars of existing exports complicate work to broaden market access and potentially displace Canadian products by allowing low quality imports.

At the same time, the CFIA's recent work with the Provinces and Territories and small businesses illustrates that real opportunities exist to grow interprovincial trade, especially for small and medium‑sized businesses. The CFIA's pilots demonstrate that when businesses receive targeted, practical support, they can successfully meet federal requirements and expand into new markets.

Looking forward, Canada can advance internal trade in a manner that is both ambitious and responsible. By focusing on the barriers that genuinely limit interprovincial movement, such as slaughter capacity constraints and gaps in technical understanding and by exploring structured models for greater provincial involvement in inspection, the federal government can support growth while preserving the integrity of the national system. With clear federal leadership, sustained provincial engagement and strategic investments, Canada can strengthen internal trade while protecting the national food safety system that underpins our international success.

Annex 1 - Demand and trade flow of food products produced in Canada

Annex 2 - Import and export of food products by Canada in 2024

Annex 3 - Internal trade and export certification

The CFIA is the sole national competent authority recognized by Canada's trading partners to issue export certificates for food and seafood products. Importing countries require these official assurances to verify that Canadian food exports meet their sanitary and food safety requirements.

CFIA inspectors endorse certificates whose contents are set during trade negotiations and that address Canada's food safety system, animal health status, inspection and sampling protocols, traceability requirements and eligibility conditions for the products being shipped. These certificates are validated by the importing country's competent authority as a precondition for customs clearance.

Before granting market access for commodities such as meat or dairy, trading partners conduct a comprehensive evaluation of Canada's food safety system. This includes on‑site audits and a detailed assessment of whether Canada maintains an internationally compliant regulatory framework for food safety and animal health, supported by inspection, surveillance, laboratory testing, enforcement and emergency response capabilities. Only once a country is satisfied with Canada's system, it negotiates the required export certificates and statements directly with the CFIA.

Canada currently maintains more than 1,000 different negotiated certificates covering various food commodities and various export markets. For meat exports alone, the CFIA has 224 different negotiated certificates and issue approximately 150,000 exports certificates per year. These certificates require certain attestation statements. For example, for manufactured foods, the CFIA is required to attest that the products originate from a manufacturer licensed to produce food for sale in Canada and/or for export, that the manufacturer is in good regulatory standing with a food safety control plan and traceability system and that the products are safe for human consumption.

If importing countries assessed that Canada's federal system no longer delivers the same level of oversight, they could require tighter conditions for exports, this would require renegotiation of export certificate conditions and may disrupt existing trade (for example, cause Canadian shipments to be rejected, complicate the process to have Canadian establishments added to export eligibility lists).

The renegotiation process could take months (or years) depending on the importing country's openness and risk tolerance. Such changes could also trigger a full re‑evaluation of Canada's food safety system, requiring Canada to prove that its revised framework continues to meet international standards and partner‑specific requirements. For example, the US could request a reassessment of Canada's equivalency for meat.

The same risks apply to imports. Countries exporting to Canada provide import certificates to the CFIA and any revisions to Canada's domestic food safety rules would need to be notified to the WTO and would require renegotiation of these certificates to remove food safety conditions that Canada has previously required, but that it can no longer justify because it has lowered its domestic requirements to facilitate internal trade.

Segregating federal and provincial products would increase costs to business and the need for CFIA oversight. While in theory it is possible to segregate ineligible products – such as those produced under provincial inspection – from federally eligible products, trading partners may question the reliability of such separation. They may want increased assurances that products will remain separate and could, like China, require registration and approval of Canadian processing and storage facilities and prohibit the co‑storage of eligible and ineligible products.

This approach would impose new costs on businesses who would have to find (or build) additional storage facilities which would require additional CFIA oversight. In addition, the segregation may also need to be applied for throughout the supply chain including processing, storage and transport, adding further costs.

This level of segregation is difficult to achieve consistently and would strain already limited warehouse capacity. Any erosion of trust or perception that Canada cannot fully guarantee the integrity of its system would significantly jeopardize food export access and create substantial economic risk.

Annex 4 – Number of SFC licence holders by province/territory and predominant commodity

Annex 5 – Comparison of provincial and territorial systems for meat

Cross-Jurisdictional review

Provincial and Territorial Meat Processing Regulations

Scope of work: Compare meat slaughter/processing regulations across provinces and territories with the Safe Food for Canadian Act (SFCA) and Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) ad Codex Alimentarius Guidelines at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The focus of the comparison is on inspection, preventative control plans (PCP), traceability and recall procedures.

Findings

Conclusion

• Potential risk of non-compliance with international trade obligations – internal trade (province/territories) that bypasses SFCR standards risks non-compliance with international trade obligations
• Considerable variation between provincial and territorial systems – Notable variations between provincial/territorial systems and SFCR regarding inspection, traceability, recall and PCP requirements
• Cost of upgrading and operating processors will be the largest barrier – the primary non-regulatory challenge for provincial/territorial processors is the cost of upgrading/operating facilities (inspection)

Annex 6 - Summary of CFIA's client services to small businesses

Note: Meat and Poultry Ontario has identified 40 other businesses interested in interprovincial trade. Information on these companies are pending.

Nearly all 26 businesses (above) are small businesses with less than 25 employees who have identified new clients for one or more of their existing products in another province.

The businesses that are responding positively to the CFIA's concierge service which has, in many cases, been able to address misconceptions about federal licensing (for example, annual inspection costs). The service has also helped several companies avoid unnecessary costs/renovations that they believed were needed to comply with federal requirements (for example, it is not necessary to duplicate equipment for federal/provincial foods, build offices for federal inspectors). During conversations with the CFIA companies express relief that they do not need to change their entire business model to become federally licensed.

Context

• An outbreak of listeriosis in 2024, with 20 confirmed cases, including three deaths, occurred across four provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta) and was linked to certain Silk brand and Great Value brand plant-based refrigerated beverage products manufactured at a facility in Pickering, Ontario by Joriki Inc.
• Following the outbreak and food safety investigation, the CFIA's Inspector General was tasked with onsite verifications of manufactured food establishments producing plant-based beverages to verify compliance with the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and Health Canada's Policy on Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Foods. The scope of the review also included how the CFIA uses food-related consumer complaints to inform risk modelling and inspection frequencies.
• The resulting report was released on August 15, 2025.
• The CFIA released an external action plan on October 22, 2025, in response to the nine recommendations of the report and to further enhance Canada's food safety system. Two of the six actions within the external action plan compliment recommendations within the Inspector General's Office (IGO)'s report – the manufactured food blitz and enhancement of the CFIA enforcement.
• An internal Management Response and Action Plan (MRAP) was developed to detail actions specific to the report's recommendations along with associated completion targets.

Current status

• The Inspector General's Office (IGO) is overseeing implementation of actions within the internal MRAP
• The MRAP is scheduled to be completed by December 2026, with most actions in place by June 2026. To date, 40% of the action items have been completed (8 of 20)
• Overall, milestones are being achieved to strengthen Safe Food for Canadians licencing controls, regulatory compliance promotion activities and risk modelling. The actions already implemented include
  • updated program direction has been incorporated into the tactical work plan documentation issued to the inspectorate to strengthen alignment with operational capacity and focus on establishments presenting the highest risk
  • broader SFCR compliance promotion activities have been undertaken to help businesses understand their obligation to ensure the food they produce is safe and there are indicators of continuous efforts in this space
  • changes have been implemented to the Issues Management System so that complaint data is better linked to the Establishment-based Risk Assessment Model (ERAM) which is one source of data that informs CFIA inspection planning and delivery
  • as of October 2025, all SFC licence applicants are now required to complete the ERAM- Additional Establishment Information questionnaire before the National Centre for Permissions (NCP) issues a new, amended or renewed licence
• In addition, steps are underway so that the CFIA will no longer grant Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licences for lower risk establishments without having the NCP first verify that the establishments provided all the information necessary for the CFIA to conduct a risk assessment (including hazards have been identified and a Preventive Control Plan is in place, where required)
• Remaining actions centre primarily on
  • updated SFCR guidance for both industry and inspectorate audiences focusing on hazard identification and implementation of preventive controls
  • long term solution to transition all systems to a same platform to enable multi-system communication and consistent data extraction; and
  • strategies to enhance the inspectorate's guidance and training processes, with the goal of strengthening and improving data integrity across data systems

Next steps

• The IGO is working closely with those implicated in the MRAP to maintain oversight of outstanding actions and provide support through the agency's organizational changes
• The next status update is scheduled for April 2026

Lead Branch: Audit and Evaluation Branch / Inspector General's Office

Context

• Ritual slaughter refers to slaughter practices conducted according to Jewish (shechita) and Muslim (dhabihah) laws. Ritual slaughter is permitted under the SFCR provided applicable animal welfare requirements are met. Canada's approach aligns with some jurisdictions (for example, the United States) that allow ritual slaughter without prior stunning; regulatory requirements and oversight vary across countries
• The CFIA has long provided regulatory guidance for ritual slaughter, including the Guidelines for ritual slaughter of food animals without preslaughter stunning published in 2019, supported by a scientific literature review completed in 2018. These Guidelines specify assessment criteria for unconsciousness
• The CFIA began enforcing the Guidelines in 2023, after which the Jewish community filed an application for judicial review of the CFIA's approach as well as seeking an injunction to prevent the CFIA from enforcing three indicators of unconsciousness (absence of rhythmic breathing, palpebral reflex and corneal reflex) pending judicial review. The injunction was granted on July 24, 2024 and remains in place until the Federal Court issues a final decision on the merits of the judicial review
• Agriculture and Agri-food Canada launched $29M Kosher and Halal Investment Programs (2025 to 2028) to support federally regulated establishments and sector organizations in improving kosher and halal red meat production, developing assurance systems and expanding domestic and international market opportunities

Current status

• [redacted]
• Ongoing Stakeholder Engagement: The CFIA is engaged in active discussions with applicants seeking a consensus approach to regulatory compliance for ritual slaughter. Most recently, on March 5, 2026, CFIA senior management met with the applicants to receive presentations from their scientific experts, supporting transparent technical dialogue on indicators of unconsciousness and humane handling verification
  • as of March 5, 2026, two (2) federally regulated slaughter establishments in Canada are currently producing kosher poultry (located in QC and Ontario). There are currently five (5) federally regulated establishments in Canada producing kosher beef and/or veal. Four (4) of these establishments are in Quebec and the fifth is in Manitoba. The CFIA continues to support other stakeholders to promote kosher beef and veal production
• National Management Review Team: The CFIA has established a national management review team to provide centralized oversight and consistency for compliance decisions related to kosher and halal slaughter, ensuring uniform interpretation of SFCR animal welfare requirements and supporting licence holders through clarifications and case review
• [redacted]

Next steps

• [redacted]
• Continue targeted support to federally regulated establishments producing kosher and halal meat to help them meet SFCR animal welfare requirements

Lead Branch: Food Safety and Science Branch