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Welcome to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s podcast series that explores the freshest ideas in agriculture and food. Each episode explores a single topic in depth—digging deep into new practices, innovative ideas, and their impacts on the industry. Learn about Canada’s agricultural sector from the people making the breakthroughs and knocking down the barriers! Farmers and foodies, scientists and leaders, and anyone with an eye on the future of the sector—this podcast is for you!
Jennifer: People will say that, you know, you can address your labor shortage with automation because then you won't need as many people. And I had someone give an analogy, which I thought was very good, is, you know, if you bring a dishwasher into your kitchen, you have you still have to have someone rinse the dishes, put the dishes in the dishwasher, and then unload the dishwasher and put the dishes away. So, you know, automation can really help. Technology can really help. But will it re-- ally change the number of people we need? It will definitely change the skills of the people. Absolutely.
Kirk: Welcome to the First Sixteen -- your podcast about innovations and innovators in the agricultural and food sector in Canada. I’m Kirk Finken.
Marie-France: And I am Marie-France Gangon.
Kirk: Today we’re talking about the labour shortage and innovative solutions to it. Marie-France, let’s get some context on the size of the issue. What are the numbers here?
MF: The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council or you know (aka CAHRC) gave us some numbers. Just in primary agriculture, on the farms alone, their estimates show a shortage of 80,000 workers. In food processing, where 300,000 people are employed, some employers were reporting an average 20% shortage of workers.
Kirk: Some impacts are predictable in a labor shortage. You get some burnt out farmers and workers. You also get lost profits. Those are opportunities that can’t be fulfilled. CAHRC estimates that the impact of vacancies going unfilled in just the primary side of food production is close to $3.5 billion a year across Canada. And it’s not new. Agricultural producers and food processors have been raising the issue of labor shortages since well before the pandemic. So, it is really an issue that has long-term implications.
Marie-France: Let’s be clear though. The sector is still posting decent numbers in production and exports. But the labour shortage is a serious issue that can’t be ignored.
Kirk: Exactly, our country is not the only one experiencing this labour shortage in Ag and food. Other countries are in hot competition for workers. Without solutions, we will have future problems.
Marie-France: So, we need some innovative solutions for hiring and, most importantly, retaining workers. It’s why we’re speaking today with Jennifer Wright, who you heard at the top of the show. She’s the Executive Director at CAHRC.
Kirk: Jennifer Wright is working at the national level. She brought together all the big players of our sector in the past few years so that they could work as one to address the labour shortage. And, in April of this year, with the help of all those major stakeholders, she tabled the resulting National Workforce Strategic Plan. It’s a big undertaking. And it’s a human resources strategy never-before-seen in our sector at a macro level.
In addition to Jennifer, we will be speaking with Stephanie Harris, Economic Development Officer in Altona-Rhineland, Manitoba. Stephanie Harris is working at a micro level…
Marie-France:…but what she is doing is not small.
Kirk: Not small. No. She’s leading an immigration pilot project in her rural community in southern Manitoba. It’s a project that has a lot of the tactics and that are proposed in the national strategy. So, it’s like a great case study for how the larger strategy will work.
Marie-France: Together, Jennifer and Stephanie are going to share some great insights into how they are hiring smart -- and helping our sector to do the same.
Marie-France: Jennifer, the labour shortage is not something new, and it is tricky. Why is the labor issue so tricky to resolve?
Jennifer: Well, it's pretty complex. There are a number of factors that are impacting the labor supply, not only for the industry, but I think Canada. The rural population has been on a bit of a decline and there's not as many kids, you know, going into their family farm right out of high school or university. We're seeing in labor, you know, with the aging workforce across Canada, every industry is facing this with the aging workforce retiring.
Kirk: You’ve been working on a national strategic plan. Can you give us a quick summary?
Jennifer: So the National Workforce Strategic Plan is really a way to bring all of industry together to collaborate and work together to address this labor shortage crisis that's impacting the entire value chain.
And so, you know, we need to ensure that we have good rural infrastructure in place, that there's affordable housing, there's access to daycare, there's access to transportation that will help attract and retain people to live in the areas. And then also, you know, looking at things like the impact of technology and automation, digitalization, the skills that we need, the perceptions of the industry by those not working in it, you know, and ensuring that there's really strong and good HR best practices in the industry to help on that retention side as well.
Marie-France: Wow. You mentioned a lot of different sides of this issue and the plan. I understand there are five pillars to the strategy. Can you tell us about the five pillars?
Jennifer: So the pillars are: the Skills Development; the Perceptions of the Industry, the Impact of Digitalization, Automation and Technology, and then also Foreign Workers and Immigration. Those are the five pillars and then there's some themes around that that the folks putting this together felt that we needed to consider in each of the pillars, things like data, making sure we have good data to measure where we're going and our and what's working, what's not.
Certainly the Canadian, um, agriculture and food industry is very competitive around the world, but we're not the only country facing this labor shortage in this industry. So how do we ensure we do this work and maintain our place and continue to be very globally competitive? Making sure that we're developing these approaches in a way that's very inclusive so that, you know, it is an industry for all. Um, and then also making sure that as we do this, that we're engaging with indigenous agriculture producers and stakeholders and looking at Indigenous reconciliation as well.
Kirk: So who are your partners in this new labor strategy?
Jennifer: The Canadian Federation of Agriculture and Food and Beverage Canada -- we`re very pleased that those two organizations, as national organizations for each primary ag and food and beverage manufacturing, have really bought in and taken a lead to be lead partners or our main partners and our steering committee co-chairs.
We also have funding for this first part of our work from Future Skills Center. Again, without that funding, we wouldn't have been able to dive in and take this really innovative approach to addressing this issue. And then the other partners are really we have commodity groups, industry associations, employers, educators and government that we've been working quite closely with as well. The more we can collaborate and work together within this model, the better we will be because we'll be able to move things forward, will reduce duplications of effort. We'll move forward faster as well.
Marie-France: “Teamwork makes the dream work”. So can you tell us, what are you doing in that strategy that has never been tried before?
Jennifer: Sure. So it is the way that we've approached this is the way that you would approach a strategic plan in any organization. So we've set our vision goals, objectives and we've also set actions with KPIs. So I would say that that as an industry has not been tried before, especially on a national level.
Each pillar has a working group that is has representation from equally from primary production and food and beverage manufacturing. This approach has been to really engage a large number of stakeholders in an organized manner because they are by working group and by theme.
Kirk: What are you most excited about this new strategy?
Jennifer: I am most excited that, um, that this seems to be what industry was looking for because the industry buy-in, the commitment, the amount of time that so many stakeholders have given to the process so far and how it's been received tells me that we're on the right track.
So we knew by 2030 we couldn't still be wondering about how these recommendations could be actioned. But the support, the engagement, the new ideas, the innovative thinking has been very exciting.
Marie-France: A bit earlier, you mentioned rural infrastructure. This is not something we normally hear when we talk about human resources.
Jennifer: You know, I will say that when we first kind of got together, a few people wondered why we were looking at things like infrastructure and that type of thing. And when we get into it, it's like, well, this is how all the pieces fit together. When you describe it. Then they say, Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
Kirk: Can you drill down a bit more on that? On infrastructure? What does it mean?
Jennifer: That’s a pretty big word. --It can mean certainly from a food and beverage manufacturing side of things, that the infrastructure is in place, the plants are in place and all that type of thing. From, you know, a movement of goods and, and making sure that the supply chain is in place, that the infrastructure is in place, rail, road, transportation and all that kind of thing. But from a workforce point of view and a rural Canada point of view, it's the making sure there's things like, you know, access to housing, access to services, schools for kids, for families that are living in those areas, uh, access to daycare so that the workforce is able, you know, the adults can get to work and not have to worry about their kids, um, and transportation and things like that.
Kirk: It’s really a comprehensive approach. Have you had pushback? People saying this is too complex?
Jennifer: Yeah, absolutely. Certainly when we started talking about these different things, we did have some people say like, what does that have to do with my labor shortage? I just need people. Um, and then you start to talk about the things that ensure that you, when you track someone, that they're going to want to stay there and, you know, all of these different things and, and taking, identifying some of the barriers to getting to work and staying at work and, and taking some worries away from workers that you know, they know that some of their needs are met with either within the job or, you know, within the community they live in.
Jennifer: And you start to talk about things like that and people are like, Yeah, yeah, you're right. Because, you know, I had hired somebody and they couldn't come because we had there was no daycare available or, you know, certainly, we hired someone and they were really keen to move to our community. But then when they started looking at housing, there was nothing available. So, you know, those are direct, tangible things that employers are experiencing.
And when you talk a little bit about that and give some examples, yeah, okay. Now I get why we need to look at this at all the different pieces and not just one. I know what's happening now and some of the provinces are taking the model and using that model and drilling down their conversations using the same framework.
And that's great because then we're all talking kind of the same language. And that's great because then we're all talking kind of the same language. And and what they do in each of the pillars might be a little bit different because it may be more regional or whatever it might be, but we're using the same conversation, we're using the same approach and and kind of all moving together.
Marie-France: And Kirk, this is the perfect segue to our next interviewee. Because Stephanie Harris is most definitely using the same language in her Immigration Pilot Program.
Kirk: Yeah absolutely.
Marie-France: Stephanie is the economic development officer for the town of Altona and municipality of Rhineland in southern Manitoba. And the pilot program -- for which she is the project lead -- is funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada…..and the results, at least in Stephanies view have been exciting…..
Stephanie: We're seeing them arrive in the community. We're able to welcome them and then watch them getting integrated. I think that's the most exciting part, seeing them uptown, at the grocery stores, seeing them at sporting events, at community events, watching their children, participating in school concerts or plays, and just watching and seeing them make Altona their home is probably the most exciting thing.
Marie-France: Can you give us a quick overview of your region, its labor needs?
Stephanie: Our population is just over 10,000 residents and we're located in southern Manitoba near the United States border. Our region has over 300 businesses and five major industry sectors that employs over half of the region's labor force, and that includes agriculture, manufacturing, construction, healthcare and retail.
Stephanie: Our region's unemployment rate is 3.7%, which is significantly low, and 20% of our workforce is over the age of 55. Therefore, the federal government, when they announced the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot program in the spring of 2019, the decision to submit an application was apparent. The only way that we were going to be able to address our labor market shortage was through immigration.
Marie-France: Can you explain the immigration pilot program in a nutshell?
Stephanie: Sure. So the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is a community-driven program and it creates a path to permanent residence for foreign workers who want to live in our community. It is designed to support economic development within our community and strengthen our local businesses capacity to develop and retain a workforce. So it also tests a unique and innovative approach to immigrant selection through community-based criteria, and it improves the retention of immigrants by fostering a welcoming environment.
Maire-France: And to go back a little bit, what were the program’s goals to start with?
Stephanie: I mean ultimately our goal was to address the labour market shortage. ---We were very aggressive in the beginning by wanting and advocating for 100 community recommendations right off the start. Very quickly, we learned how difficult the immigration process can be, and it's not quite that easy to do. But ultimately, the goal of the program itself was to get rural communities the support that they needed to address those labor market shortages.
So immigrants do have a tendency to gravitate towards larger cities within Canada. So this program gave a small community like ours the exposure to showcase what we have to offer to newcomers.
Stephanie: I mean, we see with a lot of newcomers, they may be originally landed in Toronto, but then they moved to Winnipeg because of the cost of living and now they're finding career opportunities in Altona.
Marie-France: That is amazing. How many people have you been able to match to jobs? And how many new citizens has that added to your region?
Stephanie: So at this time, we have had over 80 job offers that have been provided. I think we're at approximately 84 to be exact. That does create a potential population increase of over 250 people. So we're not just thinking about the primary applicants. We're thinking about their dependents as well, so their spouses and their children.
Kirk: I also hear that your program is attracting more than just new immigrants and new employees.
Stephanie: The program has certainly put our small community on the map. So we have certainly seen a significant uptake of interest from a wide variety of sectors looking at our region to set up their business or even the opportunity to purchase existing businesses.
Kirk: There are some large food processing companies across Canada that have similar programs for recruiting and landing new immigrants into communities. But, it makes sense that your program is being driven at the municipal level. Because bringing one worker here actually means bringing spouses and children. And other implications that only a community can address.
Stephanie: Yeah. I think with respect to the program being run by an employer, this pilot program allows us to ensure that the right employers are participating and that they're taking into consideration retention. You know, diversity training is taking place and that it's not just about filling a job. Not all employers look at immigration the same. So in order for us to have the highest possible rate of success, we mentor participating businesses so that they take a more wholesome approach to it.
Stephanie: For example, we have had businesses who have hired through the immigration pilot program that have even been able to connect their employees spouses with work within the community. So this is very much a community effort and not a silo.
Kirk: Speaking of silos. Let’s talk about the Ag sector in your region.
Stephanie: Yeah. So we do have some major Ag and food sectors. Some of them are small to medium size, others are significantly larger. We have also seen a significant amount of expansion taking place with some of our local Ag businesses, such as Elmers manufacturing. I'm not sure, but they recently, if you've seen this, but they recently won the Canadian Manufacturers and Export Award for expanding into new markets and sustaining export sales.
Stephanie: And so they've undergone, I believe it's two new building expansions within the last two years. Buffalo Creek mills as well have outgrown their current location and are looking to expand. So we are seeing significant growth taking place within our Ag industry here. And the only way we're going to be able to support that growth is through immigration.
Stephanie: We have multiple Ag sector businesses that are trying to fill labor market shortages. In some cases, they're looking for positions such as welders, mill operators. But then we also have more difficult positions to fill, like heavy duty diesel mechanics and those types of things. So I think when they're coming to us to look at utilizing the program, they're also looking at can I target certain areas. Elmers manufacturing, they hired, you know, software developers through the program. We're talking about highly skilled positions that these businesses require in that type of skilled labor isn't available in this region and sometimes very hard to attract from throughout Canada.
Kirk: So let's talk about that community-specific approach and why it's so important to the success of the program.
Stephanie: Yeah. So the community-specific criteria, it helps us to be able to assess the eligibility of candidates who apply to for community recommendation, taking into consideration priority factors to ensure that we are focusing on our community's greatest economic opportunities and best chances for candidate retention. So it's very important to us, as a community, that individuals know when they are moving from overseas to Altona, what Altona looks like.
Stephanie: You know, they may anticipate that we have public transportation, or we might have post-secondary institution for their children to be able to go to, but we do not. So, you know, they really need to understand what they're moving to.
You know, and we hear very much the positives of, you know, we enjoy the peace and quiet. We enjoy the short commutes to work. You know, we enjoy that. Everybody knows each other. So there's a lot of great positives about moving to a smaller rural community, like I mentioned before, which now we're able to highlight, which we're not able to highlight previously.
Kirk: All right. So I want to move there.
Marie-France: Me too
Stephanie: Come to Altona. You're welcome. You're more than welcome.
Kirk: These new members to you community, where are they coming from?
Stephanie: Honestly, all over the world we have applicants that have come from over 13 different countries. So it's really creating a beautiful multicultural community for us. We very often hear about how people love that their kids can drive their bicycles down the street and they don't have to worry about it or they've come from high crime areas and they don't even lock their doors now when they leave their house. We have access to all amenities that you would require. We have great schools. We've got a hospital. We've got your grocery stores, retail. We have a very welcoming, a very kind community. We have a booming community, too, with multiple industries, the Ag sector and additional sectors. We're not just a one based community where if that industry was to fall apart, our community would as well. We have multiple different industries. The town of Altona is currently in the process of expanding their second industrial park and the infrastructure's in the process of being put together there. So that's really exciting to see the industrial lots and commercial lots continuing to grow. I am originally from here and I moved back.
Marie-France: What is the percentage of Ag employers in the program? And do they have specific concerns different than other industries?
Stephanie: Yes. So the Ag industry has actually provided almost half of the job offers that have gone out through the program. Ag is a major industry within our area, whether that's manufacturing or food processing. So when they come to us with specific employer or I guess employment concerns or labor market shortages, it's really about the positions they're looking for to grow their business, to grow their company, to try to be able to keep up with the amount of growth that they're seeing taking place. And so it's also really great to see them think forward into the future about the positions that they're going to need to be filling as they're growing.
Marie-France: Super interesting. And I like the last point you made about thinking about the future, because the process to bring people into Canada takes a bit of time and to be able to reflect on that and to look at the new skills that they need is super interesting.
Kirk: Yeah and Stephanie, when we first talked on the phone, you mentioned the community hug approach. Can you describe that for us a bit?
Stephanie: So the community hug is very important when it comes to welcoming and settling our candidates and their families into our community. So once a newcomer arrives, they're connected to both a workplace mentor and a community mentor. So the workplace mentor ensures that the employers are actively engaged in successfully settling the candidate into the workplace and the community and the community mentor connects the candidate and their family to an established member of the community based on similar age, hobbies, interests. So the role of the community mentor is to... Ultimately it's to be a friend to them, to help them find different types of resources within the community that they might be looking for. But ultimately it's about creating a friendship. So there's been times where I'll see the community mentor out with the applicant and they'll be biking together because that's a similar interest that the two of them share. Or it might be a young family who have children, and same with the newcomer family. And so they're getting together, sharing meals and having a great conversation and building friendships through that. With that said, we are also seeing people who have come to Canada through this program who want to give back, and so they also want to join the community mentorship program. We have got people from over 13 different countries who are now living in the community and they're building their own communities too, based on where they've come from. So, you know, we've got a group from South Africa and they'll get together and watch sporting events in the middle of the night and they'll barbecue together.
Kirk: I heard that your municipal council members are even taking time out of their busy schedules to act as mentors, to teach English to newcomers.
Stephanie: Yeah, absolutely. We even had our former mayor that volunteered as one of our community mentors. So we were seeing, you know, our local municipal councils also stepping up and really getting engaged in this program.
Marie-France: You've created a fair amount of momentum. What do you see going forward?
Stephanie: I mean, I continue to advocate to our IRCC contacts that we want to see this program being made permanent. It's crucial to our community. You know, we have built a program that works. We are seeing momentum not only in applicants being interested in moving to our community but we're also seeing momentum in new businesses that will be coming. And we're talking about some major industry who will require immigration to fill the positions that are required for that business to be successful. So I do continue to advocate to IRCC the importance of this program to our community.
Kirk: I like that you are making the connection between broader government policies and programs with the very human, very local. I can’t help but think there must be some memorable situations that you witness.
Stephanie: This has happened a couple of times. But when our newcomers do receive their permanent resident status, they are so overwhelmed with happiness and emotion that they do come to our office to thank us for our assistance. And they're crying and we're hugging. And it's a fantastic moment.
Kirk: Marie France this is what I love about rural communities. It’s just real. I love it.
Marie-France: Real human beings, authentic.
We’re going to give the last word to Jennifer on this topic.
Jennifer: I'm pretty passionate about the industry. So, you know, the industry just has so much to offer. It's extremely innovative. There's a huge amount of technology and really being part of the industry, you're part of producing food for Canada. And, you know, that in itself is a great reason to be part of it. But there's so many others other reasons, great career opportunities, you know, part of the climate solution, part of feeding Canada and part of, you know, seeing some pretty cool technology come into place as well.
Kirk: Thanks for listening. If you found this episode interesting subscribe and dive into our past episodes.
Marie-France: Until then, you know what to do?
Kirk: Yup. Try something new.