Ottawa targets “older white men” in Farm Credit Canada overhaul

The federal government is targeting “older white men” in agriculture, reviewing Farm Credit Canada’s lending to boost “underrepresented” groups.

By: Isaac Lamoureux, True North

The federal government is targeting “older white men” in agriculture, reviewing Farm Credit Canada’s lending to boost “underrepresented” groups.

The budgetary measure was first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Budget 2025 proposes “legislative amendments to the Farm Credit Canada Act to require regular legislative reviews to ensure alignment with the needs of the agriculture and agri-food sector.”

The budget states this measure would “benefit owners of farms and businesses in the agriculture and agri-food sectors by ensuring Farm Credit Canada’s activities are responsive to the changing needs of the sector.”

“Farm operators are predominately older White men, and farm families tend to have higher average incomes compared to all Canadians,” the budget document reads. “Traditionally underrepresented groups such as women, youth, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQI+, and Black and racialised entrepreneurs may particularly benefit from regular legislative reviews to better enable Farm Credit Canada to align its activities with their specific needs.”

No draft legislation has been tabled, and the finance department has not detailed how the review will be conducted.

Statistics Canada’s most recent agricultural census offers a snapshot of Canada’s farming demographics. In 2021, 590,710 people made up the farm population, representing just 1.6 per cent of Canadians.

“Results from the Agriculture–Population Linkage show that the face of Canada’s farm population is changing,” Statistics Canada wrote in its 2023 report, Socioeconomic Snapshot of Canada’s Evolving Farm Population. “Farm households are becoming more diverse and becoming smaller.”

However, data still show a clear demographic imbalance.

“In 2021, immigrants made up 6.9 per cent of Canada’s total farm population,” the report states.

While racialized groups made up more than a quarter of Canada’s total population in 2021 (26.6 per cent), only 3.7 per cent of Canada’s farm population were from racialized groups.

Statistics Canada also found that farm families generally earn higher household incomes than the national average, with a median of $95,142 compared to $83,000 for all households.

Farm Credit Canada, headquartered in Regina, is the federal Crown corporation responsible for lending and financial services to farmers and agri-food businesses. The proposed legislative review would mark the first major overhaul of its mandate in years.

The Crown corporation services over 103,781 customers from 101 offices, mostly in rural Canada, and is staffed by 2,500 employees.