Canada - PM announces plan to help Canadian farmers access credit and receive loans

Canadian farmers who are finding it difficult to obtain loans due to the tightening of global credit markets can count on the Government of Canada to provide expanded access to credit, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today. The Harper Government will bring forward new legislation to guarantee an estimated $1 billion in loans over the next five years to Canadian farm families and cooperatives, most of which will go to farmers and cooperatives that were previously ineligible.

The proposed changes contained in Canada’s Economic Action Plan include increasing the amount of guaranteed credit available to farmers. The plan also calls for expanding the criteria for the program so that new farmers, who are excluded from receiving loans under the existing Act, will also be able to access this credit. The eligibility criteria for agricultural co-operatives will also be expanded so that more co-ops can also receive funding. Finally, Canada’s Economic Action Plan supports intergenerational farm transfers so that young farmers can more easily take over the family farm.