How Nutrition North Canada strengthens food security and sovereignty, builds up food economies and bolsters food ecosystems

March 26, 2026 — Ottawa, ON, Traditional Unceded Algonquin Territory — Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

Together with Northerners, Indigenous Peoples, and partners, Nutrition North Canada strengthens food security and sovereignty, builds up food economies and bolsters food ecosystems in northern communities through several key programs:

• Subsidy: Lowers the cost of food and other essential items
• Harvesters Support Grant: Supports local hunters, harvesters, food sharing and food ecosystem balance
• Community Food Programs Fund: Strengthens community-led food security solutions and food economies
• Nutrition Education Initiatives: Promotes food education rooted in Indigenous and northern traditions
• Food Security Research Grant: Advances research to improve northern food security and healthy ecosystems

More information on how Nutrition North Canada helps isolated, northern communities make nutritious food and some essential items more affordable and accessible can be found here: How Nutrition North Canada works

What is food security and sovereignty?

Food security is the condition in which people have reliable, year round access to sufficient, affordable, and nutritious food to support an active and healthy life.

Food sovereignty is the right and ability of communities to design, govern, and sustain their own food systems in ways that reflect their cultural values, knowledge, and relationships to land and environment.

Overall, food security centers around having enough food to meet basic needs, while food sovereignty focuses on who controls the food system and how food is produced, chosen, and sustained.

What is food ecosystem and economy?

The food ecosystem is the interconnected cycle of growing, eating, and regenerating food in ways that protect the environment, support biodiversity, and keep natural systems healthy.

The food economy is the network of activities, systems, and resources that move food from production to consumption at local and national levels, supporting access to nutritious food, employment, and resilient supply chains.

Overall, the food ecosystem emphasizes the natural and environmental processes that sustain food and nature, while the food economy focuses on the human systems and activities that produce, distribute, and provide access to food.

Nutrition North Canada investments

The Government of Canada has made recent investments to bolster food security and food sovereignty in isolated northern communities.

• Nutrition North Canada Subsidy           
  • $1.4 billion in food subsidies provided since launching in 2011 and $163 million for 2025-2026.            
  • 470 million kilograms of subsidized products to isolated northern communities to date, and 42 million kilograms shipped in 2025-26.
• Harvester’s Support Grant and Community Food Programs Fund
  • $257.2 million in funding to date and $40.3 million for 2025-2026
  • Over 15,000 harvesters and hunters and over 400 community hunts have been supported since launching the Harvester’s Support Grant in 2020.
  • 700 food-sharing initiatives have been made possible through the Community Food Programs Fund since 2022.
• Food Security Research Grant
  • Phase 1 funding: $1.5 million from 2022 to 2025
    • 5 projects funded and completed
  • Phase 2 funding: $2.3 million from 2025 to 2028, with up to $275,0000 per project
    • 9 projects being funded and announced in March 2026.