Food sovereignty in Canada: Emerging actors and competing ideas in national agri-food policymaking

Food sovereignty has recently gained increasing prominence as an alternative framework for agri-food policymaking. In Canada, food sovereignty actors are engaging with domestic agrifood policy issues; yet their activities targeting national policymaking have not been subject to systematic study. My research seeks to fill this gap by explaining food sovereignty actors' engagement in, and efforts to influence, federal policymaking processes. Using a case study research design that examines the period between 2009 and 2015, I demonstrate how Canadian food sovereignty actors have interacted with the federal policymaking process by initiating public debate over agri-food policy and forming strategic alliances with agri-food policymaking stakeholders. Furthermore, I show how food sovereignty actors promote ideas about autonomy and public engagement in federal policymaking, and explain the significance of these ideas compared to existing theories of agri-food policymaking in Canada.