Labour shortages cost Canadian agriculture sector $3.5 billion in 2022: research

The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council says labour shortages cost the agriculture sector $3.5 billion in sales in 2022.

Research by the Conference Board of Canada on behalf of the council found the sector has a vacancy rate of 7.4 per cent.

The council says the agriculture sector employed more than 420,000 workers in 2022, and almost a quarter of them were foreign workers.

Jennifer Wright, executive director of the council, says there’s an urgent need to boost the labour supply in Canadian agriculture.

She says this new data on Canada’s agriculture labour market is important so that the industry can tackle these challenges.

The council says the data is part of a longer term initiative to update its labour forecasting system and support its national workforce strategic plan.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2023.