By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

Canada’s National Farmers Union standing up for DEI policies

Feb 28, 2025 | 10:24 AM

Canada’s National Farmers Union (NFU) says it remains steadfast in its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

In a statement this month, the union clapped back at what it calls attacks on DEI by the U.S. government and several large corporations. Specifically, the NFU points to President Donald Trump’s executive order to end radical and wasteful government programs, which took aim at DEI initiatives.

Trump has also openly blamed DEI for aviation issues.

The NFU further describes said attacks as a, “shameful attempt to exclude, harm, and divide people in order to undermine our solidarity and weaken our ability to confront the billionaires and corporations that are bent on destroying our capacity to address the multiple crises that threaten our society and planet.”

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Representing thousands of farmers across Canada, the statement expanded, saying: “We applaud companies and institutions that continue to uphold their DEI policies as a way to provide a measure of redress for Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, women, LGBTQ2+ and gender diverse people, and people with disabilities who face barriers caused by historical and structural inequality.”

Meantime, other initiatives have been cancelled by companies such as Google, John Deere and others, the NFU noted, while Costco, Apple and JPMorgan are among those to stand by existing efforts.

rdnewsNOW spoke to two Alberta farmers who are sharing why they concur with the statement.

One is Adama Bundu, who at a young age, in the early 2000s, came to Canada with her family as refugees from the west African region.

Bundu, who has worked on several farms in the Edmonton area, shared why farming, along with diversity, equity and inclusion, deserve to be talked about more in the same sentence.

It’s especially important in an Alberta context, she says, given the history of Black settlers in places like Breton (formerly Keystone) and Amber Valley (formerly Pine Creek), among others.

“I think diversity, equity, and inclusion have a huge role in the farming industry and in Canada’s agricultural history,” she says. “These same communities have faced different barriers — historical violence, or have been pushed out of farming — and they still face those same challenges, especially when we look at financial institutions, [and] what banks would give in terms of access to loans.”

Bundu says whether it’s class, ethnicity, religion, or regional access, it’s clear the three individual parts of DEI are inherently connected to farming.

The worst part of the attacks on DEI, she says, is how something seen by so many as good and necessary to make up for historical exclusion is being used to push hate, antagonism and division.

“We have a changing face of farming; all the farmers aren’t people from Europe anymore. First of all, let’s call it what it is: it isn’t DEI, it’s diversity, equity and inclusion,” says Glenn Norman, a 69-year-old cattle farmer who now runs a farm-to-table operation east of Bowden, Alberta.

“That’s the great enemy of our current neighbour to the south. If you think about it in those three words, you want people who represent those around you, and that’s whether you’re farming or not. Think about it, we have farmers, quite a few actually in the Calgary area, from Syria, and who are actually renting land, growing vegetables, and are farming just as they’ve farmed before.”

Norman says the link between farming in Canada, DEI, and American attacks on DEI begins with misinformation.

“The link is when you start spreading misinformation and pretend that diversity, equity and inclusion are some great enemy of the people, it causes another effect with other people,” he says.

“Companies will look at this and say, ‘Well, we used to have a policy where we’d hire people more representative of the population, but we don’t have to have that anymore.’ So people who are marginalized in the first place don’t ever get the chance at the job.”

A full-time farmer since 1984, Norman will be welcoming Bundu and other farmers later this year for a farm worker-led cooperative project on his farm.

Meantime, the NFU’s youth caucus and BIPOC caucus are advocating for better land access, which Bundu believes would help an industry where as much as three-quarters of farmers don’t have a succession plan, she says.

She also points out how much the farming industry depends on migrant workers — another reason why it was important for the NFU to make its voice heard on this issue.

“We see these antagonisms grow and see initiatives like Black History Month and DEI as something which separates us,” says Bundu.

“Instead, I’d really hope more people could see it as a time to engage and connect with those of Black [or other] heritage in your communities and neighbourhoods. We have a long way to go, but we’re all a part of making that change.”

If you wish to support the NFU’s work or are passionate about the future of agriculture, the NFU has a membership drive ongoing through Feb. 28 with all new memberships 50 per cent off.

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