That’s despite the effects of avian influenza on the country’s flock.

WHY IT MATTERS: Canadian egg producers have capitalized on demand for economical protein.

Egg production expanded by 7.6 per cent last year to 937 million dozen, with per capita egg consumption on the rise, Egg Farmers of Canada reported. During 2025, 1.5 million hens were temporarily added to the system to meet demand.

That included annual egg sales rising 5.8 per cent, with foodservice demand up 2.6 per cent. Also, the number of households consuming six or fewer eggs per week was down four per cent, which Egg Farmers of Canada attributed in part to its new ‘Eggs Everywhere’ campaign.

Demand for economical protein was also a boon to egg demand, FCC reported in February.

To combat salmonella enteritidis, all hens in Canada will now have to be vaccinated against that infection.

The phasing out of conventional housing systems continued with 39.5 per cent of the national flock still in such systems, down from 42 per cent in 2024 and 52.9 per cent in 2021.

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The project’s lead researcher is so excited she’s putting off retirement.

“I want the first experiment in a system like this. This is so exciting,” Karen Schwean-Lardner said in a University of Saskatchewan news release.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation announced $6.2 million in funding to build a state-of-the-art poultry laying facility at the University. The foundation is a federal government-created non-profit set up in 1997 to fund research infrastructure in Canada.

WHY IT MATTERS: The proposed facility will allow researchers to improve poultry barn lighting, housing and food systems for better animal welfare and egg production.

The Saskatchewan Egg Producers contributed $3 million while the university’s agriculture and bioresource department added $1 million.

“This will move us so far forward in poultry research,” said Schwean-Lardner in the release. Schwean-Lardner is a professor in the university’s department of animal and poultry science.

The nearly 24,000-square-foot facility is set to include three types of hen housing: enriched, free run and free-range. Ten individual housing rooms will have controls for lighting, temperature and other environmental factors.

“Each one is like a little mini-barn,” Schwean-Larder told media.

“Big data is getting more attention these days. We have a lot of data that can be gathered over time, and this unit is going to allow us to manage that data and collect it over a long period of time,” assistant professor Deborah Adewole said. “There are going to be a lot of new things that we can do for poultry research.”

The facility will also include viewing rooms so public groups — for example, schoolchildren — can see the chickens and housing systems while reducing biosecurity risks.

“We can control the environment. Right now, we cannot do that in the same way,” said Adewole. “This facility is one of its kind in Canada. There are other universities that have built new facilities, but this one is encompassing all systems and has space for public viewing systems as well — which is a first in Canada.”

Schwean-Larder said her first experiment would look at the effects of light on the hens and will involve researchers from the U.S.

“To be able to do that kind of research with an international perspective, I can’t stand it. I’m losing my voice because I’m excited.”

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Alexandra Harlander is a professor in the department of animal biosciences at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College.

Her appointment as research chair in poultry welfare is part of a $1.3 million investment to ensure research at the university, “continues to guide animal care standards and inform management decisions” according to a Feb. 26 news release.

Harlander’s research focuses on understanding hen behaviour across different housing systems. Her work has contributed to the National Farm Animal Care Council’s codes of practice, the release said. She has also contributed to several industry programs, including a national feather-scoring system.

“True animal care is shared care. It includes the hens, the farmers and the farm families in every barn across the country,” Harlander said in the news release.

“I strive to develop practical, science-based solutions that benefit the birds and the well-being of the people who care for them,” she said. “I look forward to working directly with farmers and their birds to address the challenges they face.”

Harlander succeeds Tina Widowski, who held the chair since 2011.

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For example, before 2021 ground beef was about $1.00 per pound cheaper than chicken breast, wrote FCC senior economist Graeme Crosbie in a Feb. 11 report. Since mid-2024, the price of ground beef has caught and even surpassed the price of chicken breast in some months.

Chicken prices at retail, farm gate

This rise in beef prices has pushed consumers toward other meats, like chicken and pork. Since 2022, pork prices have risen by more than 13 per cent, chicken prices by almost 22 per cent, and beef prices by nearly 38 per cent, FCC reported on Jan. 28.

Additional demand for chicken has led to higher prices. Fresh or frozen chicken prices rose by an average of 6.7 per cent in the final three months of 2025, FCC said. January to September, they rose 0.9 per cent on average per month.

The rise has been largely independent of farm gate prices in the latter half of the year.

FCC predicted that farm gate prices for chicken will be flat to lower in 2026 as feed costs are expected to remain low.

“Margins will remain positive given strong demand and aforementioned low feed costs,” Crosbie wrote.

Crosbie noted that there’s some concern that avian influenza will hamper producers’ ability to fill demand — particularly in B.C. However, 5.6 per cent more more chicks were placed for broiler production in the latter half of 2025 than in the same period in 2024.

“Assuming avian flu outbreaks are well controlled, this bodes well for production numbers in the first part of 2026,” Crosbie wrote.

Imports of chicken under the Canada-United States-Mexico (CUSMA) and Trans-Pacific (CPTPP) trade agreements reached nearly 100 per cent of tariff-rate quotas for the first time in 2025.

Egg demand, production up

Eggs are also benefiting from demand for economical protein.

While egg consumption per capita has been on the rise since the 90s, there was a “significant jump” in the second half of 2025, said Crosbie.

Specifically, the number of eggs available for consumption rose to 5.54 dozen per person in the third quarter of 2025 from 5.00 dozen per person in the same quarter of 2024.

This “indicates a large increase in production amid slowing population growth,” Crosbie said.

Two opposing forces appear to be in play, Crosbie wrote. There appear to be plenty of eggs available, while there’s only anecdotal evidence of the impacts over the winter of avian influenza on laying flocks.

“Quota allocation may be slowed or altered to begin the year if no significant production capacity was lost,” Crosbie wrote.

“Regardless, the longer-term outlook for egg consumption and production continues to be positive.”

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For more than 50 years, Canada’s supply management system has delivered something remarkable: a reliable supply of high-quality, nutritious food produced by Canadian farmers for Canadian families. That’s not just good policy—it’s good for people. At a time of much uncertainty, it is more important now than ever to have the right systems in place to ensure Canada’s ability to feed itself today and into the future.

Every day, over 1,200 Canadian egg farmers and farm families produce fresh, local eggs from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia and everywhere in between. Together, our industry supports over 18,500 jobs across the country and contributes $1.3 billion to Canada’s GDP annually. These aren’t abstract numbers—they’re families, businesses, and rural communities that witness firsthand the benefits of supply management.

What makes this food system so unique is its made-in-Canada logic. Supply management empowers egg farmers to match production with demand, which in turn provides predictability for farmers, food processors, and consumers. That’s the kind of smart, self-sufficient model Canadians rely on. It’s a system that focuses on coordination, collaboration, and a deep respect for the food we produce, the people who produce it, and the Canadians who enjoy it.

As we have seen in recent years, supply management has helped Canada remain resilient, and it will continue to ensure we have strong domestic food supply chains even in the face of external market shocks and supply chain challenges. That’s not just an economic advantage—it’s a national security asset. In fact, with the ongoing geopolitical tensions, over 90 per cent of Canadians are convinced of the need to maintain Canada’s supply management system.

Throughout the campaign, we have been hearing a lot about affordability, jobs, local businesses and building an efficient, green economy. The good news is that supply management already delivers on many of these priorities, and its continued success depends on ongoing political leadership. Leadership that values strong domestic food production in a rapidly shifting global economy and recognizes that Canadians want domestic food self-sufficiency. This is why we are encouraging candidates from all political stripes to stand strong with our farmers and defend supply management as the essential pillar of Canada’s food system it is.

Canadians want to know that when they go to the grocery store, the eggs they buy are fresh, local and produced with care. They want policies that support the farmers who live in their communities and contribute to their economies. They want the made-in-Canada food they trust.

Supply management isn’t just a model for agriculture—it’s a model for the kind of Canada we want to live in. Canada’s egg farmers are looking to our leaders to show their strong support for this fundamental system that delivers stability and self-sufficiency to our food system.

— Roger Pelissero is a third-generation egg farmer and Chair of Egg Farmers of Canada

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Eggs are missing from grocery shelves nationwide, and shoppers able to snag a dozen are facing sticker shock for the breakfast staple.

“A simple egg sandwich is like a luxury,” said Jon Harris, who was shopping for eggs at a supermarket in Chicago on Thursday.

Since November, a surge of infections of the lethal flu in Iowa and Ohio, the two biggest egg-producing states, has fueled the shortage. As a result, egg producers are charging more to wholesalers, retailers are limiting how much shoppers can buy and restaurant menu prices are up. The U.S. is importing tons of eggs from Turkey to bolster supplies.

Mass culling

About 163 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have died from the virus or been culled to contain its spread since the U.S. outbreak in poultry began in 2022, according to the USDA.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture culls any flocks with poultry that test positive to contain outbreaks. The policy has devastated massive commercial farms, including one that culled 4.2 million laying hens in Sioux County, Iowa, in December.

The pace of spread among egg-laying chickens has been picking up, USDA data shows. In January, 19.5 million egg-laying chickens were killed, the most of any month in the outbreak since March 2022.

With a population of about 340 million people, the U.S. has traditionally maintained about one laying hen per person to meet consumer demand, experts said.

As of Jan. 1, the country had 304 million laying hens producing table eggs, down two per cent from a year earlier and 11 per cent from five years ago, according to USDA data.

How high are prices?

Average retail prices in January reached a record $4.95 (C$7.04) per dozen, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. That was up 96 per cent from a year earlier and 239 per cent from five years ago.

Consumers have faced ever bigger sticker shock, with prices climbing to $8 or even $10 (C$11.38 to $14.22) per dozen in major cities like Chicago.

Wholesale prices have also set records, benefiting farmers who manage to avoid outbreaks and are not locked in to long-term pricing arrangements.

Egg prices accounted for roughly two-thirds of the total increase in food costs last month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

How will outbreaks end?

Egg farmers are urging the USDA to approve the use of a vaccine to protect laying hens from the virus. The agency has resisted vaccines in the past over concerns that their use will disrupt U.S. exports of poultry products, including chicken meat, to importers who want to avoid buying from suppliers with outbreaks.

“It sure seems to me that we’re going to have to start using vaccines if we want to start putting this fire out,” said Gregory Gray, a University of Texas Medical Branch professor.

The USDA has said it is rebuilding a stockpile of vaccines and granted a conditional license to animal-health company Zoetis for one suited for laying hens. It could take a year for vaccines to be administered and become highly effective, if they are approved, said Heather Jones, founder of Heather Jones Research, which focuses on agriculture and meat companies.

In France, producers have said that a bird flu vaccination campaign launched in 2023 has helped restore production to levels not seen since the virus began to wipe out tens of millions of birds.

—Additional reporting by Renee Hickman in Chicago

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Ibrahim Afyon, chairman of the Egg Producers Central Union (YUM-BIR) in Turkey, told Reuters that shipments began this month and will continue until July.

“The export will take place through our member companies with the required authorizations, while two firms will coordinate the process,” Afyon said.

“A total of 15,000 tonnes of eggs — equivalent to 700 containers — will be shipped.”

The U.S. has been working to contain the spread of bird flu, which was first detected in dairy cattle in Texas last March and has since spread to multiple states. The virus has infected nearly 70 people since April, including one fatal case, primarily among farm workers exposed to infected poultry or cattle.

An outbreak in poultry that began in 2022 has wiped out about 160 million chickens, turkeys and other birds, contributing to egg shortages.

In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted conditional approval to animal health company Zoetis for the use of a bird flu vaccine in poultry.

The agency is also rebuilding a stockpile of vaccines tailored to the current strain affecting commercial flocks and wild birds.

Faced with supply constraints, U.S. firms have sought alternative import markets, leading to negotiations with Turkish producers, Afyon said.

He said the deal is expected to generate around $26 million in export revenue.

Turkey ranks among the world’s top 10 egg exporters, Afyon added.

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The Canadian sector produced 903 million dozen eggs in that time period, the largest 12-month tally on record according to an FCC article written by senior economist Graeme Crosbie.

Production costs in that sector have eased this year but remain historically high, he added.

The U.S. has also already filled its quota of tariff-free imports of eggs and egg products to Canada.

“Put another way, there will be no further tariff-free imports of egg and egg products from the U.S. and Mexico for the remainder of 2024,” Crosbie wrote.

Turkey production may be turning a corner after a stretch of low demand and production, Crosbie said.

Last year was the first since 2016 to see an increase in production—6.1 per cent. It was also the first time in nearly a decade that per capital consumption of turkey increased.

In 2024, inventories of frozen turkeys are trending close to monthly maximum levels seen over the past five years, though production had fallen every year from 2016 to 2022.

Turkey prices increased between 2021 and early 2023 before falling slightly in the latter half of the year. This year, prices have declined to be even more and are forecast to be slightly lower to finish the year before stabilizing in the first half of 2025, Crosbie said.

Overall, “Lower food inflation should support demand for poultry products, and the long-term fundamentals for the sector are sound,” he wrote.

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