Budget 2026 – Growing the Canadian Cattle Herd

Click the above link to see the 2026 CCA Budget Submission

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The Canadian Cattle Association’s recommendation for Budget 2026 to drive economic growth, food security and international competitiveness:

Embed Livestock Price Insurance into Canada’s business risk management suite with government cost-shared premiums.

Why now?

Cattle producers have faced extreme weather events, increased input costs, and supply chain disruptions that have led to a historic shortage of cattle in North America. After years of contraction, Canada’s beef cattle herd has entered an expansion phase and we need to capitalize on the momentum.

Young and new producers need proactive risk management tools that help maintain and grow their herds and businesses.

The U.S. Government has acknowledged the North American cattle shortage and is responding to support their domestic producers. We need to ensure Canadian producers maintain our competitiveness.

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Livestock Price Insurance and Trade Diversification

Global meat demand is set to surge 70% by 2050, which is good news for our industry’s economic growth potential. Herd regrowth is the first step to helping Canada meet our trade diversification goals. LPI is a key tool that will help support Canadian cattle producers’ competitiveness and business growth decisions.

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A Canada-Mercosur trade deal risks undermining herd rebuilding and food security.

With North America’s cattle inventory at a 50-year low, cheap imports held to lower labour, safety, and environmental standards send producers the opposite signal from the one needed to rebuild the herd.

Effective business risk management tools can help Canadian producers rebuild our herd so we can grow our domestic food security.

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