Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada cuts multiple major research centres and 665 employees

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) will be shutting down several of its research facilities and axing more than 600 of its departmental jobs.According to Real Agriculture, multiple social media posts claimed AAFC's Lacombe Research and Development Centre at Lacombe, AB, and the Nappan Experimental Farm/AAFC Nappan Research Farm in Cumberland County, NS, are going to be closing.The Food Professor, or Sylvain Charlebois, who runs an agri-food analytics lab at Dalhousie University, wrote on X these were not the only two — and more major centres were expected to close.Charlebois stated that AAFC's major research facilities across the country would be affected, including those in Quebec City (QC), Lethbridge (AB), Summerland (BC), Agassiz (BC), Harrow (ON), Kentville (NS), and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (QC)..Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, MLA for Cumberland North in NS, wrote in a Facebook post Friday, the closing of the research facility at the Nappan Experimental Farm/AAFC Nappan Research Farm is "devastating” and “will have long term ramifications” for the rural community."Yesterday’s news was a gut punch for every employee and their families and also all those that work in the agriculture world ,” said Smith-McCrossin. “Nappan is a working farm and research site that supports real producers with real challenges. ""Just two months ago they received a national award for their excellence in agricultural research. Closing it means fewer local jobs, fewer tools for the farmers, and less capacity in a region that depends on agriculture. It also sends the wrong message about the value of science and research in this country.”.A beef researcher at the AAFC's Lacombe Research and Development Centre (LRDC) wrote on X the centre was being shut down due to the feds' budget cuts."With the AAFC location closures and position cuts, there will be people with a variety of unique skill types and levels directly affected," stated Block.LRDC has a more than 100 year history, and includes a satellite location of Beaverlodge Research Farm.The research is related to livestock and meat production, and crops..Their livestock research aims to "enhance the economic stability and reduce the environmental impact of livestock production systems and to support the Canadian fresh meat processing sector in supplying safe, high quality fresh meat with good storage life."According to Real Agriculture, 665 AAFC employees — including executive roles roles — will be let go, an almost 13% decrease.This is part of the feds' efforts to reduce spending on government operations.Reported by Blacklock's Reporter, the feds are planning to eliminate an estimated 40,000 federal jobs , according to a December 10 note to the Treasury Board targeting a cut that would reduce the workforce to 330,000, from an estimated 367,772 positions in 2024..Federal workforce to shrink by 40,000 as Ottawa plans sweeping job cuts .As per a message dated Tuesday to AAFC staff from Deputy Minister Lawrence Hanson, he stated, "Over the past several weeks, senior management has been reviewing the decisions confirmed in Budget 2025 and their impacts on the Department." "We have finalized our review and now have a way forward to reduce our spending over the next three years in a manner consistent with the Budget decisions.""I want to emphasize that none of these difficult decisions were taken lightly. They have been guided by the need to ensure spending is sustainable and activities reflect the Department's core mandate," Hanson wrote.As of 2025, there are 5,690 employees at AAFC.