Media Releases

Wine Growers British Columbia (WGBC), the voice of British Columbia’s wine industry, welcomes the winery support announced today in the 2021 Federal Budget and will continue to work with Agriculture Canada on the execution and extension of the support program.

Budget 2021 proposes to provide $101 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to implement a program for the wine sector that will support wineries in adapting to ongoing and emerging challenges, in line with Canada’s trade obligations. WGBC supports Wine Growers Canada’s (WGC) recommendation that the federal government implement its Wine Grower Quality Enhancement Program to provide foundational sustainability to invest in our future and compete on a fair equitable basis with other wine regions globally. The WGC program has the support of all wine growers across Canada, that will create thousand of jobs and a positive return on investment for the Canadian economy.

WGBC, supported WGC’s collaboration with partners across the country; together with senior federal officials in developing this trade legal program to support efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. This will support wine growers across Canada as they deal with the impacts of the pandemic and the pending repeal of the excise duty exemption program, which was successful in supporting investment in more than 400 grape wineries, stimulating 40 million litres of new wine production, and contributing almost $5 billion annually to the national economy.

“Today’s Budget announcement is a monumental investment in the future success of British Columbia’s wine industry and the province’s highest value-added agri-food beverage. The new program will support every winery across British Columbia and provide economic certainty, stimulate millions of dollars of investment and create thousands of winery, grapegrower and tourism jobs across the province,” said Miles Prodan, President and CEO, Wine Growers British Columbia.

“Over the past year, WGBC along with our national association and partners in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, has worked tirelessly with federal officials to develop a winery support program that is not only trade legal but will support regional jobs and growth that will benefit our industry. I want to specifically thank Agriculture Minister Bibeau and International Trade Minister Ng and our local MPs Dan Albas, Tracy Gray, Richard Cannings and Patrick Weiler who helped to get this program into Budget 2021,” added Prodan.

“The winery support program in Budget 2021 will allow wineries in BC to come out of this pandemic recovery strong. The program provides certainty for future investments in many wine businesses and the rural communities we help to support,” Tony Stewart, CEO of Quails’ Gate Estate Winery.

Budget 2021 will support winery and vineyard investments across BC, leading to modernization, increased wine quality, demand for BC grapes, the creation of several thousand jobs and hundreds of millions in economic impact, which will deliver significant regional and tourism dividends.