The federal government says $176.9 million will be used to extend the Wine Sector Support Program, including for Okanagan wineries.
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The federal government says it is putting $176.9 million into Canada’s wine industry to help licensed wineries deal with rising costs and other pressures.
The announcement was made Friday morning at Sandhill Winery in Kelowna by Kelowna MP Stephen Fuhr, alongside local winemakers, grape growers and representatives from Wine Growers of BC.
The funding, part of Budget 2026, is intended to extend the Wine Sector Support Program for another three years starting in 2027–28, subject to Budget 2026 being passed by Parliament.
Fuhr said cold weather has been particularly damaging for local grape growers, in some cases causing more harm than wildfires.
Kelowna winemaker Paul Sawler of Dirty Laundry Winery said the impact of extreme weather on Okanagan wineries has been significant, with multiple growing seasons affected by heat and freezing temperatures.
Sawler said the 2021 heat dome reduced production by about 30 to 40 per cent, while the 2023 freeze affected about 56 per cent of Okanagan production.
He added that the 2024 freeze resulted in almost a complete loss, saying the “24 freeze cost basically 100 percent production” and that a dollar figure was not something he could easily calculate.
Sawler said the program extension will give wineries more certainty as they plan for the future and help them reinvest, noting the winery plans to use most of the funding for “agricultural capital, production capital, or just growing our business.”
He said the funding would also make a difference in what the winery was able to produce this year.
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