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By Chris Brown

Agriculture minister says ‘wild investment’ could result from value-added tax credit

Feb 8, 2023 | 12:53 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Alberta’s agriculture and irrigation minister says an agri-processing tax credit will help attract large-scale investment, diversify the economy and create jobs, and could mean big things for southeastern Alberta.

“The south already has a mass concentration, especially that Highway 3 corridor is really Canada’s premium food corridor and we have 230,000 acres of new irrigation coming online in the next couple years,” says Nate Horner. “We think for that area specifically we’re going to see some pretty wild investment numbers in the coming months.”

On Tuesday, Horner announced the Alberta Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit just outside of Calgary. It’s a 12 per cent non-refundable tax credit aimed at supporting growth within the ag industry that is due to be introduced in the spring budget.

He says agri-processing is anything that’s added value to a raw agricultural product, meat processing, a canola crush facility, or a flour mill.

A minimum capital investment of $10 million in value-added agri-processing in the province must be made to qualify for the new credit. Horner says this larger program complements existing ones like Emerging Opportunities Agricultural grants and the investment and growth fund for smaller operations

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The minister says agri-food is already the biggest manufacturing sector in the province but there’s more opportunity

“Not just investment opportunity but also I guess just heightened awareness about food, food scarcity, food affordability, supply chains, grow local,” he says. “We think there’s a heightened desire in the province and in our government to do more to ensure that not only we’re getting value for the products we grow but that we can do more with them here..”

Horner says the program is projected to have an eight per cent return on investment to Alberta taxpayers immediately, and further impact throughout the lifespan of any facilities built.