2025-2026
Advocacy Platform
The Quebec’s Young Farmers Advocacy Platform is an educational tool that presents the various mandates entrusted to FRAQ by its members. It aims to address their aspirations by improving the conditions for establishing a career in agriculture, promoting the farming profession, and providing members with training and information.
The full advocacy platform is divided into five key themes, which bring together our various demands.
This document is dynamic and will be updated annually based on the resolutions adopted at our annual spring congress. As a result, some issues may be updated, added, or removed over the years.
Throughout the document, as well as in a dedicated section on the final pages, you will find the gains achieved by the FRAQ over the past year.
Our Advocacy Platform, now available in multiple versions and languages!
We also decided to make our microplatform available in English ! This concise version of our Advocacy Platform highlights our 26 key demands and provides an accessible overview of the priorities of Quebec’s Young Farmers.
La plateforme de revendications de la relève agricole est un outil de vulgarisation des différents mandats que les membres ont confiés à leur fédération afin de répondre à leurs aspirations en améliorant les conditions d’établissement en agriculture, en valorisant la profession d’agriculteur, en formant et en informant ses membres.
La microplateforme de revendications de la relève agricole, un outil qui rassemble nos 26 demandes dans un format simplifié et accessible. Un format pratique pour connaître nos demandes !
Our Advocacy Platform
Core Principles
Core Principles
Policy Ask 1
To ensure representation of young farmers in decision-making bodies
Quebec’s Young Farmers must have a voice on national issues that will have a significant impact on the future of their profession. Their perspectives must be at the heart of consultation processes for major projects, as they are the ones who will shape the future of agriculture.
Core Principles
Policy Ask 2
MAPAQ budget increase
For many years, the share of the provincial budget allocated to MAPAQ has been barely 1%. To address the various needs and demands of the next generation of farmers, it is essential that MAPAQ receive increased funding so that its institutions can be adequately funded to fulfill their respective mandates.
Improve Financial Support
Improve Financial Support
Policy Ask 3
Reform of the Programme d’appui financier à la relève agricole (PAFRA)
The PAFRA is the most important FADQ program for producers establishing themselves in agriculture. Before the program’s terms were updated and funding amounts increased in spring 2026, the last major changes to the program had been made more than 10 years earlier. These latest changes represent a historic victory for the FRAQ.
Improve Financial Support
Policy Ask 4
Adapting programs and subsidies for the young farmers
Financial support from MAPAQ and various public organizations is essential to agricultural businesses. It takes many forms, including ministerial initiatives, budget allocations, and government programs. Young agricultural businesses in the establishment phase may be more vulnerable and have a greater need for this support.
Improve Financial Support
Policy Ask 5
Enhancement of the Initiative ministérielle Relève agricole et entrepreneuriat (IMRAE)
The Initiative ministérielle Relève agricole et entrepreneuriat (IMRAE) is highly valued by the next generation of farmers, and each application period demonstrates its popularity. For this reason, it is important to continue improving the initiative and adjusting its criteria to ensure they reflect the needs of our agricultural businesses.
Improve Financial Support
Policy Ask 6
Additional support for agri-environmental measures and the agroecological transition
Environmental and animal welfare requirements are driving significant changes in agricultural practices. While necessary, these changes entail substantial costs for Quebec’s Young Farmers, who often have limited liquidity. The lack of support in navigating these regulatory changes further complicates their implementation.
Improve Financial Support
Policy Ask 7
Implementation of coordinated measures to support young farmers and prevent crisis situations
Recent years have been marked by rising production costs, extreme weather events, interest rate fluctuations, and trade tensions with our neighbours to the south. These factors are placing significant pressure on agricultural businesses, particularly those operated by Youngs Farmers, and raising concerns about their future.
Improve Financial Support
Policy Ask 8
Eligibility of used machinery for financial assistance programs
The prices of new agricultural equipment have been rising steadily. These essential tools have increased in purchase price by 36% over the past four years. Choosing used machinery can provide much-needed savings for many farmers while also reducing their environmental footprint.
Improve Financial Support
Policy Ask 9
Reduction in the costs of Class 1 driver’s license training
The mandatory 125-hour training required to obtain a Class 1 driver’s licence is a significant challenge for the next generation of farmers. While necessary for road safety, it creates additional costs for producers who need to use heavy vehicles for harvesting or other agricultural activities.
Improve Access to Farmland
Improve Access to Farmland
Policy Ask 10
Creation of long-term patient capital loans for the young farmers
Between 2001 and 2021, approximately seven farms closed every week in Quebec. Quebec’s Young Farmers often has limited collateral and faces high interest rates. This option would provide long-term loans at favourable rates, with a government-guaranteed down payment, to support the start-up, transfer, and investment in agricultural businesses.
Improve Access to Farmland
Policy Ask 11
Put in place mechanisms to limit speculation on agricultural land
Agricultural land is under significant speculative pressure, driving land values well beyond their agricultural value. This situation limits access to land for Quebec’s Young Farmers, even though it is an essential asset for practicing their profession. Access to land therefore remains one of the main barriers to establishing the next generation in agriculture.
Improve Access to Farmland
Policy Ask 12
Promote and enhance the return of fallow land to cultivation
Since fallow land represents an opportunity to establish new agricultural businesses, it is a key issue when it comes to improving access to land for the next generation of farmers. Financial assistance to bring previously uncultivated land back into production would offer significant development potential for Quebec’s Young Farmers.
Improve Access to Farmland
Policy Ask 13
Funding for the network organization L’ARTERRE
L’ARTERRE is a matchmaking service offered in more than 40 RCMs across Quebec, focused on supporting and connecting Quebec’s Young Farmers with retiring farmers. Currently, its funding depends on operating agreements with RCMs and regional partners. A national funding model supported by the government should therefore be considered to ensure the service’s long-term sustainability.
Improve Access to Farmland
Policy Ask 14
Exemption from property transfer tax for FIRA and FUSA
In the face of rising farmland prices and increasing urban pressure on agricultural land, FUSA and FIRA offer solutions that facilitate access to farmland. Since they are not recognized as agricultural businesses, they are required to pay land transfer duties. A portion of these costs is passed on to Quebec’s Young Farmers through administrative fees, which can be very high.
Improve Access to Farmland
Policy Ask 15
Tax incentive for the sale of land to a young farmer and the purchase of a first parcel of farmland
As the price of agricultural land continues to rise, the next generation of farmers can sometimes struggle to offer a high enough price to purchase a farm or farmland. By introducing tax incentives, it would be possible to encourage the sale of farmland to the next generation and make these transactions more financially advantageous for both parties.
Improve Access to Farmland
Policy Ask 16
Standardize the transfer processes to a successor, whether related or not, in order to reduce inequalities
Even today, tax benefits differ between transfers to related and unrelated successors. This disparity influences the farm transfer process. When tax benefits are limited or nonexistent, retiring farmers may often turn to options that allow them to obtain a higher sale price.
Improve Access to Farmland
Policy Ask 17
Increase in the amount of capital gains exemption
Taxation plays a major role in the transfer of agricultural businesses. Although the capital gains exemption was increased to $1.25 million in 2024 to support Quebec’s Young Farmers, this amount remains insufficient given the rising value of agricultural businesses. Provincial exemption criteria must also be aligned with federal criteria.
Improve Access to Farmland
Policy Ask 18
Better regulation of residential construction and land subdivision in agricultural zones
The construction of extremely high-value residences in agricultural zones significantly affects the transferability of agricultural businesses and access to farmland for Quebec’s Young Farmers. It is also important to establish mechanisms that enable the next generation to own the land they cultivate.
Support Our Farming Models
Support Our Farming Models
Policy Ask 19
Reciprocity of standards and promotion of local food purchases
Agri-food production standards and requirements vary significantly from one country to another, whether they relate to social, environmental, agronomic, economic, or health considerations. These disparities often put our agricultural businesses at a disadvantage when competing in international and Canadian markets.
Support Our Farming Models
Policy Ask 20
Providing financial support for the development of short supply chains for young farmer’s businesses
Following the successive crises that have affected agriculture, many businesses operated by Quebec’s Young Farmers have begun transitioning toward shorter distribution channels. This shift requires them to adopt new marketing and sales practices to meet the growing expectations of customers seeking diverse, local, and fresh products.
Support Our Farming Models
Policy Ask 21
Centralized quota sales system for young farmers
The high cost of dairy quotas represents a significant challenge for Quebec’s Young Dairy Farmers. Start-up assistance programs and quota loan programs help facilitate establishment. However, when it comes time to repay the borrowed quotas, businesses must repurchase these volumes on the market, putting them at a disadvantage during the SCVQ’s monthly auctions.
Create a Supportive Environment
Create a Supportive Environment
Policy Ask 22
Supporting specialized mental health services for farmers
Farm outreach workers play an essential role in prevention and support on farms. Unstable funding for these initiatives results in uneven access to mental health services across the province. Some regions lack access to specialized resources, which increases wait times for care for a vulnerable population.
Create a Supportive Environment
Policy Ask 23
Creation of a pension plan for farm operators and agricultural employees
More than half of Quebec’s farmers rely on the sale of their business to fund their retirement, since access to pension plans is primarily based on contributions deducted from a paycheque. As a result, for many farmers, the increase in farmland values represents the only way to secure a financially sustainable retirement.
Create a Supportive Environment
Policy Ask 24
Incorporating changes to the employment insurance system
Agricultural business owners currently cannot contribute to or access Employment Insurance, even though it provides support to their employees. Allowing Young Farmers to benefit from Employment Insurance would provide additional income during slower periods and help improve farm cash flow.
Create a Supportive Environment
Policy Ask 25
Opening and consolidation of daycare centers in rural areas
Farmers must deal with unpredictable schedules and tasks that are sometimes incompatible with having children present on the farm. These situations can lead to difficult choices for families, and access to childcare services adapted to the realities of agricultural work would greatly facilitate work-life balance.
Create a Supportive Environment
Policy Ask 26
Provide a tax incentive for the sale of land to a young farmer and for the purchase of a first parcel of farmland
In addition to being a demanding sector with sometimes unconventional working hours, it can be difficult for agricultural businesses, particularly those operated by Quebec’s Young Farmers, to offer competitive wages compared with other sectors. Faced with a shortage of local labour, there is often no choice but to turn to foreign workers.