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Canada’s aquaculture alliance blames Trudeau government for industry decline
January 30, 2025 By Aquaculture North America staff
The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) has said that the Trudeau federal government has weakened the aquaculture sector.
In its analysis of the 2023 Statistics Canada aquaculture production and trade data, CAIA noted that the loss in overall production is because of non-science based and federal government actions to reduce salmon production in British Columbia.
These actions have also threatened workers at a time when the aquaculture industry needs to be strong for coastal communities across Canada as it faces threats from the states.
“Aquaculture production is fast expanding and now accounts for over 50 percent of global seafood production. It is a critical path to feeding a growing global population with healthy ocean-based protein. With the world’s greatest capacity for cold water aquaculture, Canada can either be at the front of world with innovation and opportunity or be on the wrong side of history,” said Timothy Kennedy, CAIA president & CEO.
Below are some key items CAIA highlighted from its 2023 Aquaculture Production Data analysis:
- Canadian farmed seafood production was 145,985 tonnes in 2023 which was the lowest level in a decade and 27 percent less than peak production levels in 2016 (200,804 tonnes).
- The total value of farmed seafood produced in Canada was $1.26 billion, and has fallen 25.3 percent in real terms since its peak value of $1.69 billion (constant 2023 dollars) in 2018.
- Exports of Canadian farmed seafood fell to $882.8 million in 2023, the lowest value in real terms since 2015, and has dropped 24.5 percent since the peak export value of $1.17 billion in 2019.
“In the last five years, the Trudeau government has listened to extreme activists and, against their own internal peer-reviewed science advice, undertaken damaging actions that have weakened a sector that has major opportunity for Canada. It is time to begin on a new and innovative pathway toward food security, job creation and new economic and community opportunity through seafood farming,” Kennedy added.
