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Cheers: Federal Budget 2026 Vows to Continue Supporting Okanagan Wine Industry
The program would help wineries modernize and recover from climate and trade pressures, with one producer citing losses of up to 100% from freezes.
- On Friday, Nov. 13, MP Stephen Fuhr announced in Kelowna that the Canadian Federal Government will renew the Wine Sector Support Program for three years, with Budget 2026 proposing $176.9 million starting in 2027-2028.
- Extreme weather events have significantly impacted Canadian wine producers in recent years, with Paul Sawyer of Dirty Laundry Vineyards noting the 2021 heat dome cost 30 to 40 per cent of production and the 2024 freeze cost 100 per cent.
- Sawyer plans to use the federal funding primarily for capital reinvestment, allowing the company to modernize farming operations, including expanding production facilities, adding bottling lines and tanks to restore growth patterns from prior to 2021.
- The multi-year commitment removes significant industry uncertainties, including climate volatility and trade barriers, with Sawyer explaining, "What this has done for us is at least taken one of those uncertainties out of the equation."
- Fuhr emphasized that Budget 2026 also targets competitiveness and export diversification, noting that Canada's non-U.S. exports grew 56 per cent in two years, though the budget still requires passage in the House of Commons.
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19 Articles
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Creston Valley Advance+8 Reposted by 8 other sources
Cheers: Federal Budget 2026 vows to continue supporting Okanagan wine industry
Budget 2026 proposes $176.9 million for three years, providing financial support to help licensed Canadian wineries adapt to ongoing and emerging challenges faced in the industry
Coverage Details
Total News Sources19
Leaning Left16Leaning Right0Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution94% Left
Bias Distribution
- 94% of the sources lean Left
94% Left
L 94%
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