The National Citizens Inquiry will hold public hearings in High River, Alberta, from August 18 to 20, 2026, asking whether Canadian farmers feel safe under today’s agricultural regulations. The citizen-led group will gather testimony from farmers, researchers, and policy experts on food security, land use, and the pressures facing the country’s food producers.
The hearings, called “Are Farmers Safe in Canada?,” follow similar sessions held in Kelowna, B.C., in March 2026 and in London, Ontario, in June 2026. In Kelowna, the inquiry heard accounts of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s order to destroy more than 300 ostriches at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., in November 2025 after a year of legal battles. That case and others have fuelled debate over how regulations affect farmers.
The inquiry arrives as many Alberta farmers push back against proposed federal livestock traceability rules. In January 2026, a town hall in Innisfail drew nearly 500 farmers who opposed the CFIA’s plan for premises identification and seven-day reporting. Organizer Dawn Buschert said the crowd made it clear they do not want the changes, which some say would hurt small producers.
High River, with its deep agricultural roots dating back to the 1907 founding of the High River Agricultural Society, is a fitting stop for the hearings. The NCI is a citizen-led and citizen-funded organization that began in 2022, originally chaired by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning. It has since broadened its scope beyond the COVID-19 response to examine child safety and now farm and food security issues.
The hearings come less than two months after Prime Minister Mark Carney launched Canada’s first National Food Security Strategy on June 11, 2026. That plan commits $3.2 billion over a decade to boost domestic food production and affordability, but some farmers remain concerned about regulatory burdens and the long-term decline of family farms. Since 1941, Canada has lost about 75 per cent of its farms, and over half of agricultural revenues now come from just two per cent of farms.
The High River sessions are free and open to the public, but online registration is required through Humanitix.
