CanaDa’S PoWeRHouSe of THe fuTuRe

western Canada is positioned to become a global powerhouse as the world struggles to address the growing food and fuel insecurity challenges of the future. Businesses, small and large, in the resource-rich prairie provinces are making significant gains in innovations that increase food and fuel production, while also focusing on decarbonization and transitioning to a low carbon economy. Much of the innovation underway is also focused on establishing value-added and supply chain services in the prairie provinces, creating jobs and supporting economic growth in Canada.

As the powerhouse of the future, with the resource wealth and the growing decarbonization opportunities it of- fers Canada today and into the future, thought leaders in the key food, fuel, and fertilizer industries believe western Canada must play a significant role in shaping the country’s approach to food and fuel security of the future.

Over the summer of 2022, the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce initiated discussions with other chambers, and leaders of western Canadian businesses about a western Canadian Food, Fuel and Fertilizer Summit. The summit was intended to bring awareness to the significant work being done in the prairie provinces to address global food and fuel insecurity, and to take a leadership role in advocating for a strategy to take critical western Canadian food and fuel resources to the world.

Western Canadian businesses were overwhelmingly supportive of a summit that would showcase the leading low carbon innovations underway, and that would assist the Government of Canada in taking greater action to address the looming food and fuel challenges of the future. In February 2023, this vision became a reality, and the Food, Fuel, and Fertilizer Business Summit (FFFBS) was held over a twoday period in Saskatoon, Sask. The event was a monumental success.

The FFFBS included a world-class lineup of presenters, including president and CEO, Nutrien, Ken Seitz; president and country chair, Shell Canada, Susannah Pierce; president and CEO, Cameco Corporation, Tim Gitzel; president and CEO, AGT Food and Ingredients Inc., Murad Al-Katib; president and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Honourable Perrin Beatty; and president and CEO, Vancouver Port Authority, Robin Silvester. Event attendees also heard from Federated Cooperatives, KPMG Advisory Services, FHQ Development, and several SMEs in Saskatchewan.

What did we hear during the two-day event? Canada’s role as a food-producing nation has never been more important than it is today, and western Canada’s role, as the source of that food, is critical. Western Canada has abundant access to all that is needed to produce food. We have vast amounts of land. We are home to the world’s largest producers of crop nutrients, we have access to the fuel needed in food production, and we have a large resource pool with a strong work ethic and commitment to western Canada.

With so much at our fingertips, Canada has created a powerful brand in the world today. We are a democracy, we are seen as ethical, we respect the rights of minorities, we are seen as responsible in our treatment of the environment, and we are respectful in our interactions. This is critical for us in so many ways and will play an important role in helping us market our food, fuel, and fertilizer to the world.

With all great opportunities, challenges do exist, and successfully producing and exporting the food and low carbon fuels the world needs will require government cooperation. We must work together to position western Canada as the powerhouse it is. This will take vision and commitment from all levels of government, and the voices of small, medium, and large enterprises to capitalize on the food, fuel, and fertilizer boom in western Canada. l

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