Vankleek Hill beekeeper Russell Gibbs is pleased that a federal and provincial assistance program for honeybee health is continuing.

On August 1, the governments of Canada and Ontario announced more than $1.7 million through the Honeybee Health Initiative to help the province’s beekeepers grow and protect their honey bee colonies from disease, pests and weather-related threats. To support the province’s plan to protect Ontario, this funding will help 206 local beekeeper businesses, with a total of 334 individual projects, improve the resilience of their colonies and boost the competitiveness of their honey bee operations in the face of U.S. tariffs.

“This is exciting news… we have participated in the funding program every year since its inception and it’s been a huge help for us to have cost-share funding specifically for beekeeping. I wasn’t sure if they were going to bring it back, so I’m glad they are!” said Russell Gibbs, who operates Gibbs Honey in Vankleek Hill with partner Andrea Glenn.

In 2024, there were more than 4,000 registered beekeepers across Ontario, generating $28 million in farm gate sales. The Honeybee Health Initiative provides cost-shared funding to help these businesses make operational improvements to reduce overwintering losses, purchase equipment to improve hive health management and acquire new honey bee stock or queens.

“Healthy bee populations are vital to the diverse crops that grow right across Ontario,” said Heath MacDonald, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “I’m pleased that our support through the Honeybee Health Initiative is helping beekeepers protect their colonies and improve their resiliency for years to come.”

This Honeybee Health Initiative was funded under the Sustainable CAP, a five-year, $3.5-billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation, and resiliency of Canada’s agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector.

“Our government is proud to invest in Ontario’s honey bee industry through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, in collaboration with the federal government,” said Trevor Jones, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.