CPMA celebrates 100th anniversary with big victories

The Canadian Produce Marketing Association is celebrating its 100th anniversary at its annual convention in early April, and along with it, industry members will be celebrating a very successful year of advocacy - maybe the best it has ever had.

In December, the Canadian Parliament passed legislation granting priority status to produce growers and shippers for unpaid product in the event that a buyer of their fruits and vegetables files for bankruptcy. The new law, Bill C-280, is similar to the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act trust amendment that offers bankruptcy protection to produce sellers in the United States.

“We were the lead organization to make that happen,” said CPMA Ron Lemaire. “It has been 30 years in the making, and it has finally come to fruition.”

He added that it is impossible to overstate the importance of the legislation, and with it, the importance of CPMA as it represents the produce industry in Canada.

“Being the voice of the fresh produce industry is the most important thing we do,” he said, echoing the comments of three industry executives who all served as chairman of CPMA over the last several decades.

2023 Chair Colin Chapdelaine, who is president of Whole Leaf Ltd. (The Star Group), said the goal of passing a bankruptcy protection law for the produce industry was on the top of the agenda for every chair for the past three decades. “We finally got it across the finish line,” he said, adding that the effort was immense.

Chapdelaine reminded that Canada’s legislative system offers challenges for every long-term effort, such as the passing of major legislation. He noted that this bill was passed just weeks before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation and dissolved Parliament. “If we would not have succeeded when we did, the new government would have come in and we would be back to ground zero,” he said.

When it passed Chapdelaine said he heard “a collective sigh of relief” from the past chairs, all of whom had spent much of their year in office working on that issue, as had he. “Everyone came together to get it across the line. I was actually amazed,” he said. “It was a very rewarding experience.”

He said equally important was the work CPMA did this past year on the plastic reduction issue moving through the courts and Parliament. While the issue has not been solved yet, Chapdelaine said a court decision has allowed for a pause in its implementation, “which has allowed CPMA and others to work toward a more reasoned approach. This is a big advocacy effort for us.”

In a nutshell, a law was passed allowing Parliament to regulate plastic packaging — such as clamshells and fresh salad bags — as a toxic material. “They were going down the path to completely ban plastic,” he said. “We got in front of the issue and have helped slow it down.”

Lemaire said both the bankruptcy protection and plastic ban efforts in 2024 were reflective of what CPMA has been doing during its 100-year history. “We are a solution space for the entire industry,” he said, adding that the description includes many areas of involvement besides political advocacy. Also on its agenda are market development, innovation and food-safety, to name just a few important topics of concern.

Lemaire joined CPMA in 1998 as director of marketing and was elevated to president in 2011. As he reflected on his career and the history of the organization, he said the keys to success has been CPMA resiliency and ability to adapt and adjust to meet the needs of the fresh produce industry, helping it to survive and thrive.

The organization started as the Eastern Canada Fruit & Vegetable Jobbers Association in May of 1925. It went through a couple of name changes over the years but settled on its current moniker in 1989. For many years, the organization shared staff and office space with the Canadian Horticultural Council. In 2000, CHC, which is now the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada, hired its own director and staff, and established its own offices. Both organizations are still headquartered in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, and are close collaborators.

Lemaire spoke to The Produce News on the last day of February as the trade war with the United States was in its first pause. The CPMA president said Canada is a reluctant participant but will fight a good battle if it must. He noted, however that there will be “no winners” in a tariff fight. He added that untethered market access between the United States and Canada has served both countries very well for decades.

He was especially scratching his head about Canada’s plight as it is a net importer with the United States, which is contrary to U.S. President Trump’s assertion for the need for tariffs. “We are all on the rollercoaster,” Lemaire said on Feb. 28, “wondering where it is going to go next.”

Each of the past chairs were equally dumfounded as to the need for tariffs, and they all expressed dismay at the actions by the U.S. government.

Les Mallard, who was chair in 2018, said while Canadians are frustrated with the current U.S. administration, they are quick to differentiate between politicians and U.S. residents. “We all have friends and neighbors and family who live in the United States; we understand the difference between the Trump Administration and its people. But we do wonder, why us at this point? Why single out Canada? If you want a good neighbor, that’s who we are.”

Mallard said his relationship with U.S. produce people has not and will not change. “All the U.S. produce industry members I have met over the years are terrific people.”

He is looking forward to seeing many of his U.S. friends at the upcoming 100th celebration of PMA at its annual convention in Montreal. Asked about the annual CPMA convention, he called it an “amazing event” and the best produce conventions he attends every year. He said its intimate size allows for great conversations and it is also a fun convention with great learning opportunities.

In fact, Mallard called the CPMA show the “hallmark” of the association’s success and has been for the entirely of its century long life.

Mallard, Fyffes Canadian vice president of sales, has been in the banana business in his home country for 38 years, living and working in Halifax, NS. After beginning his working career in the grocery industry, Mallard joined Chiquita as a junior salesperson in July of 1987 and remained with the company for 30 years until May of 2017 when he took an early retirement. After enjoying some time off, Fyffes came calling and he joined that banana-centric firm in January of 2018.