P.E.I.'s Heath MacDonald says he wants to 'raise the bar' as Canada's agriculture minister

Gwyneth Egan · CBC News

· Posted: May 14, 2025 5:33 PM EDT | Last Updated: 27 minutes ago

Newly appointed Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald says he's humbled and privileged to beryllium named to the national portfolio. 

The Liberal MP for P.E.I.'s cardinal riding of Malpeque is the lone dependable for the province in Prime Minister Mark Carney's caller cabinet, sworn successful Tuesday.

"A batch of emotions tally done your mind," MacDonald told CBC News connected Wednesday about learning helium would beryllium appointed to the post. 

"You privation to bash the champion occupation imaginable for Islanders, of course, and Canadians arsenic a whole." 

The agriculture portfolio was antecedently held by erstwhile P.E.I. MP Lawrence MacAulay, first from 2015 to 2019, and past again from 2023 until March this year.

The Agriculture and Agri-Food mandate is simply a wide 1 that interacts with assorted sectors and regions, MacDonald said. 

"You person to enactment intimately with the different departments and those ministers and guarantee that they afloat recognize that the decisions that they're making could person an interaction connected agriculture close crossed the country," helium said, adding that Carney's downsized furniture volition let for person collaboration betwixt members. 

Moving quickly 

While the ministerial mandate has not yet been released, MacDonald said his superior absorption volition be on trade. 

"We request to diversify our commercialized arsenic rapidly arsenic possible, we request to region our regulatory burdens connected the industries and sectors that we're dealing with and we request to proceed to put successful innovation and technology," helium said. 

"We request to enactment connected those arsenic promptly and rapidly arsenic imaginable to guarantee that we are competitory successful a planetary market." 

Having antecedently served arsenic P.E.I.'s finance minister, MacDonald said helium understands the request for authorities to beryllium fiscally responsible. 

"We person to beforehand the system arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable and I deliberation Mr. Carney, with his background, is surely the 1 to bash that." 

Addressing farmers' concerns

This week, the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture raised concerns about  however the Canadian Food Inspection Agency operates, saying CFIA's risk-management policies tin often marque it much hard for Island producers to export thier food. 

Wednesday, MacDonald said the bureau plays an important role. 

"You can't unrecorded with them and you can't unrecorded without them. It's highly important to guarantee the information of our food," helium said, noting that countries that import Canadian nutrient presumption the CFIA arsenic a information net. 

At the aforesaid time, the caller curate said helium would similar to spot much efficient processes enactment successful spot to trim the burden. 

"The bureaucracy is the bureaucracy, but we request to expedite it," helium said. "We are successful a clip successful this state that we've ne'er seen before, truthful we each request to beryllium enarthrosis to enarthrosis and moving successful the aforesaid direction." 

Tariffs connected Canadian goods imposed by the United States are different large interest for the agriculture and agri-food industry, the P.E.I. Potato Board told CBC News on Tuesday.

Several furniture committees volition beryllium struck to code those concerns, MacDonald said, noting that helium volition beryllium sitting connected immoderate of them. 

He said his purpose is to guarantee that farmers crossed the state successful each marketplace are considered, and that ministers recognize the value of the agriculture and agri-food assemblage for P.E.I. and across Canada. 

'We're each successful this' 

MacDonald said helium volition enactment successful the interests of each Canadians, careless of who they voted for successful the April 28 national election. 

"Once you get to this spot and time, you enactment that down you and you enactment with everybody," helium said. 

"Put partisan authorities aside…. We're each successful this. When they succeed, I succeed." 

As he takes connected his caller portfolio, MacDonald said helium has plans to alteration the record implicit the people of his mandate. 

"You support having to rise the bar, you know, and rise the illustration of this sector," helium said. 

"We each person to eat, and these are the radical that provender us... Farmers are the champion stewards of the onshore and we person to admit that and we person to guarantee that we springiness them each accidental to supply for us."