Ontario's farmers will have a new minister when the legislature returns in October. In a cabinet shuffle on 10 September, Premier Doug Ford named Sam Oosterhoff minister of agriculture, food and agribusiness, replacing Trevor Jones, who had held the post since May 2025 and now moves to labour, immigration, training and skills development. Lisa Thompson stays as minister of rural affairs.

The premier's office framed the changes as putting Ontario on a long-term footing to protect workers, businesses and communities as President Trump escalates his trade war with Canada.

Oosterhoff represents Niagara West, which takes in Grimsby, Beamsville and Wainfleet. Niagara Economic Development says the region contributed C$1.71 billion to regional GDP in 2021, supported 24,000 jobs, has more than 1,600 farms and grows about 90 percent of Ontario's grapes; it also produces roughly two-thirds of the province's tender fruit.

He arrives with some agricultural history. As associate minister of energy-intensive industries and earlier as parliamentary assistant to the minister of red tape reduction he helped launch the Grow Ontario Strategy in December 2022, and in March this year he attended the announcement of a C$12 million investment by Moyer's Apple Products in a new facility in Lincoln.

Elsewhere in the shuffle David Piccini takes infrastructure from Kinga Surma, who becomes president of the treasury board; Brian Saunderson becomes sport minister after Neil Lumsden's retirement; and Zee Hamid takes tourism, culture and gaming after Stan Cho's resignation. Diego Flammini reported the story for Farms.com.

Photo: Tavis Nembhard / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Source: Farms.com