Careers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

[Inspirational piano music starts.]

[A young farmer leans against her tractor and smiles.]

Narrator: You may have seen us in our tractors.

[A combine plows a field of wheat. A presenter speaks to an audience in the Canada Pavilion.]

You may have heard about our trade negotiators.

[A negotiating team confers in a boardroom.]

You may have heard about our scientific breakthroughs.

[A scientist holds a grapevine leaf up to a greenhouse light. Two scientists analyse the yellow contents of two beakers. A scientist sweeps a bug net through a field. Three scientists evaluate the findings on a computer in front of them.]

And still, you wondered.

[A scientists waters greenhouse plants. Another reaches for her lab coat and slides it on. The label on her label reads “Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.”]

[A green rectangle slides over the screen. Text appears in in time with the narrator’s words.]

Narrator / Text: What do they do at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada?

[Two scientists carry samples through the lab. The green rectangle slides off, then reappears to one side.]

Well, we work to support the agricultural and food system in Canada.

[Two other scientists exit a research centre, farm equipment in hand. Text appears on the green rectangle.]

Text: We grow. We innovate. We support. We invest. We promote. We mitigate risk.

[A timelapse plays of a plant growing. A scientist looks through a microscope. An office worker speaks on her headset. An exporter presents Canadian meats to an international crowd. Another exporter holds up his wild rice product. A scientist plants red flags around a wetland.]

We are focused on serving Canadians and ensuring that Canada can sustainably produce high-quality, safe food.

Good for consumers and for the planet.

[A close-up view of a person biting a cookie. Cut to a landscape view of a several mountains surrounding a small pond.]

[Three combines plow a wheat field. A blue rectangle appears alongside, with new text.]

Text: Our core responsibilities: 1. Science and innovation. 2. Market competitiveness. 3. Mitigation of risks.

Our mandate consists of three main responsibilities.

We have 20 research centres across Canada with regional expertise.

[The camera flies over a research station. A blue rectangle appears alongside, with new text.]

Text: 1. Science and innovation. Productivity. Sustainability. Food quality / nutrition. Pest management. And we collaborate with local farmers and their associations…

[Two men fly a drone in a farm field.]

… so that our solutions are applied.

[Three business people discuss plans and write them on a glass pane.]

And we work with provincial and territorial governments to fund innovation.

[In slow motion, a farmer and a businessman shake hands. A blue rectangle appears alongside, with new text.]

Text: 2. Market competitiveness. Funding innovation and marketing.

Removing trade barriers. Promoting Canada to the world.

We want our sector to be competitive at home and abroad.

[An enormous cargo ship is loaded with shipping containers.]

This means supporting our food businesses to grow…

[A farmer smiles, holding up a squash from his crates of produce. On a fishing boat, a vendor at a farmer’s market smiles as she arranges leafy produce in a box..]

… expanding our market access and promoting Canadian products around the world.

[A plane flies over a field of wheat.]

Farming and food production is filled with risks beyond producers’ control.

[A storm brews over a field. A blue rectangle appears alongside, with new text.]

Text: 3. Mitigation of risks. Weather impacts. Climate change. Pests and disease. Market fluctuations.

[A farmer checks her laptop in a field.]

Our department provides tools and financial support to reduce the impacts of those risks.

[A farmer holding his son stand in front of a tractor.]

We are dedicated and award-winning public servants.

[A scientist smiles in a greenhouse of wheat. A yellow rectangle appears alongside, with new text.]

Text: Experts in our fields

[All the employees of a research centre stand outside their greenhouses, smiling at the camera.]

Experts in our fields.

[Two scientists dig in a field of potatoes. One holds a potato up to the camera and smiles.]

We work hard on behalf of a hard-working sector.

[A producer and a scientist walk together in a cattle enclosure. A farmer carries a bale of hay through a barn.]

Ours is a diverse and highly specialized workforce.

[A group of scientists examine a row of grapevines. A yellow rectangle appears alongside, with new text.]

Text: Diverse and specialized workforce. 4800 employees. 2200 in research centres. 2600 in offices.

[Two scientists collaborate around a microscope.]

Nearly half of our employees work in our research centres.

[Three employees look over blueprints together.]

Others are located in offices across Canada, and around the world.

[Crowds of international buyers mill around the Canada Pavilion.]

We value inclusiveness in the workplace.

[Employees on a video call wave to the camera.]

It ensures the diversity of perspectives…

[A greenhouse worker smiles at the camera.]

… and enables employees to contribute to their full potential.

[Processors wheel a rolling cart of cheese into a room filled with shelves of cheese. An orange rectangle appears alongside, with new text.]

Text: Portfolio organizations. Canadian Dairy Commission. Canadian Grain Commission. Farm Credit Canada. Farm Products Council of Canada. Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal.

Our department includes five portfolio organizations and agencies.

[Grain is loaded into a large ship.]

And they guide, regulate, and develop the agricultural sector.

[Two workers walk through a farmer’s field. An orange rectangle appears alongside, with new text.]

Text: Partner agency. Canadian Food Inspection Agency. We also collaborate with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency…

[A scientist uses tweezers to select a sample of ground beef.]

… on issues of international trade and research.

[A masked scientist puts on a pair of gloves. The label on his labcoat reads CFIA-ACIA. A red rectangle appears alongside, with new text.]

Text: Ours is a shared mandate. Support programs. Market development. Inter-provincial trade. Policy framework.

And collaboration is at the heart of farming and food.

[Two men shake hands in a greenhouse.]

Many of our funding programs are cost-shared…

[An office worker fills in papers at a desk.]

… and managed by provinces and territories.

[A greenhouse worker checks on shelves of plants. A red rectangle appears alongside, with new text.]

Text: Supporting a healthy and sustainable sector. 7.4% of GDP. One in eight jobs in Canada. Employs 2.3 million Canadians.

The Canadian agriculture and food system is a key driver of our economy…

[A transport truck crosses a bridge.]

… both in terms of GDP and jobs.

[Two workers look at a tablet as they walk through a warehouse.]

We work in support of our food system and the 2.3 million Canadians who work in this sector.

[A farmer smiles as he puts on his cap. A farmer walks through his field. A green rectangle appears alongside, with new text. The list of words rotate quickly.]

Text: Check it out… oatmeal, strawberries, blueberries, milk, oatmeal, maple syrup, broccoli, chicken, eggs, turkey, beef, pork, bison, canola oil, mustard, ketchup, grapes, wine, beer, juice, spirits, sugar, beets, carrots, turnips, asparagus, pasta, cheese, tomatoes, potatoes

Farmers grow it. Processors package it. Grocers sell it.

[Factory workers box lines of tomatoes. A woman shops in the produce section.]

And we support and drive innovation…

[A grocery store clerk smiles at the camera.]

… in one of the safest food systems in the world.

[A delivery woman drops off a box of groceries. A chef chops vegetables.]

With every meal, you experience the end result of our sector’s work.

[A family sits down to dinner. A young girl munches on toast.]

Our work is your bread and butter.

[A green rectangle fills the screen. Text appears on it.]

Text: Learn more at www.agriculture.canada.ca

[The inspirational music ends. The rectangle slides away, revealing new text.]

Text: This footage was recorded prior to the Government of Canada’s physical distancing guidelines. Canadians are encouraged to continue to follow COVID-19 safety guidelines.

[Cut to the Canada wordmark.]

[End]