Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Canada's national heritage fair winners. These are projects that highlight the curiosity and learning among our youth across the nation. One of the winning projects, by Cora Lukeman, focused on women in farming. It celebrates the strength, leadership and legacy of women in agriculture.
Let us picture a young girl holding a bag of P.E.I. potatoes. They were grown by her aunt in North Lake, packed by her grandfather just down the road and sold by another aunt in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. This farm-to-table supply chain is rooted in family tradition that has sustained a seventh-generation farm and family for over 150 years in P.E.I. Her grandfather summed it up best. He said, “My daughters are smart. They care about the land and they work hard. That's what makes a good farmer.”
Today, one in three farmers in Canada is a woman and more than half of all new farmers in Atlantic Canada are women. They are shaping the future of Canadian agriculture and inspiring the next generation.