A new report from Royal Bank of Canada has been highlighted by Canada’s salmon farming industry as evidence that federal policy is discouraging investment in aquaculture, particularly in British Columbia.
RBC said more than C$1 trillion in investment left Canada between 2015 and 2024, with C$2 leaving the country for every C$1 of foreign direct investment entering, according to SeaWestNews,
The bank said Canada’s challenge was not a shortage of capital, but an investment climate weakened by regulatory drag, shifting policy signals and uncertainty that pushes money elsewhere.
Salmon farming groups argue those concerns are already visible in British Columbia, where farm-raised salmon production has fallen by more than 40% since 2015 and annual production capacity has dropped from more than 90,000 tonnes to less than 50,000 tonnes over the past six years. An economic analysis cited by the publication said the contraction has already reduced annual economic output by more than C$770 million, cut GDP by C$286 million, eliminated 3,000 jobs and reduced family income by C$170 million. SeaWestNews
Industry groups attribute much of the decline to Ottawa’s plan to phase out open-net pen salmon farming in British Columbia by 2029. They say that, if fully implemented, the policy could remove the province’s remaining 50,000 tonnes of farmed salmon production and result in losses of C$1.17 billion in annual economic activity, C$435 million in GDP and 4,560 jobs nationwide.
The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance said the policy had chilled investment and increased reliance on imported fish. Chile exported 6,838 tonnes of salmonids worth US$84 million to Canada in the first nine months of 2024, up 34% year on year, while Norwegian salmon exports to Canada rose 35% in value in the first half of 2024, according to figures cited in the report.
Mowi said in its latest annual report that its Canada West operations faced “highly uncertain future prospects”, while the company continued expansion in Chile, Scotland and Iceland.
Industry groups added that replacing the proposed phaseout with a science-based, Indigenous-led regulatory framework could allow the sector to generate C$2.5 billion in economic output and support 9,000 jobs by 2030.