This article examines the prospect for a national food policy through the lens of trade agreements and the concept of policy space. It traces the shrinking of domestic policy space in recent decades as a result of trade agreements. Advocates such as Food Secure Canada seek a “coherent” food policy that supports a sustainable, more domestically-focused, food system. This article argues that the prospects for such a policy are constrained, based on Canada’s past history, under both Liberal and Conservative governments, as well as recent bilateral and regional agreements. It examines the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Transpacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) which included the United States, and the subsequent Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) negotiated by the remaining eleven partners after the US departure. Focussing on market access, standards, regulatory harmonization and procurement, I argue that provisions in these agreements, along with what we might expect in future trade negotiations, pose challenges for the development of a national food policy.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Smythe, E. A., (2025), "Food for thought: How trade agreements impact the prospects for a national food policy", HSSCommons: (DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v5i3.282)

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1. canada
2. food policy
3. trade agreements

Original publication: Smythe, Elizabeth Ann. "Food for thought: How trade agreements impact the prospects for a national food policy." Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation, vol. 5, no. 3, 2018, pp. 76-99. DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v5i3.282. This material has been re-published in an unmodified form on the Canadian HSS Commons with the permission of Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation. Copyright © the author(s). Work published in CFS/RCÉA prior to and including Vol. 8, No. 3 (2021) is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY license. Work published in Vol. 8, No. 4 (2021) and after is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA license. For details, see creativecommons.org/licenses/.