It will take about a year to wrap up scientific activities, according to an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada spokesperson.
As part of efforts to cut down the federal workforce, officials plan to close the Guelph Research and Development Centre located on Stone Road.
Even though the shutdown is still a year away, notices have already been sent out to employees. This has led to strong criticism from the Agriculture Union, which represents staff at this facility and others affected by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) decision.
Several other sites across the country are facing similar closures.
“These cuts will sabotage important gains we’ve made in agricultural research and set research on Canadian food products back by decades,” said Milton Dyck, the union’s national president, in a news release. “We have been warning the federal government for months about cutting an already-decimated department. There is simply no more room to cut.”
Three research and development facilities are scheduled for closure, including the one at 93 Stone Rd. W., along with four satellite research farms, confirmed AAFC spokesperson Cameron Newbigging. In total, around 665 jobs will be lost.
Notices were issued to 1,043 affected employees on January 22.
“AAFC’s decisions were guided by a careful review of the department’s science activities, sector priorities, capacity, and infrastructure,” Newbigging stated via email. He also noted it “will continue to be the largest agricultural research organization in Canada, with 17 research centres across the country.”
The agency needs these job cuts for long-term sustainability and improved efficiency, he mentioned. This approach allows them to “concentrate resources where they will continue to generate scientific, economic, and environmental benefits.”
While overall federal employment has increased by 30 percent recently, Milton points out that AAFC’s staffing levels have dropped by 14 percent between 2012 and 2025.
“Our AAFC members are the backbone of Canadian agriculture research. They assist farmers by mitigating the impacts of climate change and drought, performing groundbreaking research, and keeping our food production industries competitive on a global scale,” he said.
“These cuts at AAFC damage research into the fast-changing needs of the agriculture sector, whether it be changing environmental conditions or developing new varieties of agricultural products safe from disease or food safety.”
“While our partner nation to the south is slashing research, we should not be.”
The facility closures won’t happen immediately.
“At this stage, we anticipate that wind-down of science operations could take up to 12 months, with timelines varying from one site to another depending on specific circumstances,” wrote Newbigging. “Full divestiture of sites is expected to take even longer.”
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