Prime minister Justin Trudeau announced a program awarding $150 million to support farmers, food businesses and processors. In addition, food producers would be able to draw on an allotment of $140 million in loan capital.
Aspects of the program include:-
- A $55 million emergency processing fund to help producers acquire personal protective equipment, automate and modernize their facilities and respond to COVID-19
- A National Agri Recovery initiative of $90 million to assist producers with costs incurred as a result of COVID-19. This fund will provide set-asides to support cattle and hog populations held on farms due to closure or slower production rates in packing plants
- Initiating a Surplus Food Purchase Program with an initial $135 million to redistribute unsold inventory including vegetables and poultry products
Chicken Farmers of Canada claim that the support program is inadequate given that output has declined by 12.6 percent in the current month and will possibly be lower by 11 percent in June, July and August. Benoit Fontaine, Chairman of Chicken Farmers of Canada stated, "we are not looking for compensation for our reduced 
production, we will take care of this ourselves". He added "what we are asking for is a commitment to cover both the value of the birds and the cost related in any required depopulation due to COVID-19". According to press reports depopulations have not occurred to date due to the ability of processors to re-route birds from plants that have been temporarily closed.
It is noted that chicken production in Canada is based on a controlled marketing system that affords individual farmers and processors a greater degree of security and stability then the free-market system in the U.S.