Counsel helped deliver a major budget victory for Ontario farmers with the announcement of a new and permanent $100 million Risk Management Program (RMP) in the 2012 provincial budget.
Working with both Ontario Pork and the Beef Farmers of Ontario (formerly the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association), Counsel accomplished this under severe time pressure and despite fiscal restraint and belt-tightening by the provincial government.
To deliver this victory, Counsel designed and implemented a sophisticated government relations campaign that made use of a number of internal and external campaign communications and public relations tools.
To achieve our objectives, Counsel formulated a strategic and tactical engagement plan, developed key messages, created videos and an integrated campaign website. We also held a training session with team members, and organized Canada’s first hour-long telephone town hall meeting for the agriculture sector, facilitating an interactive dialogue with over 900 pork farmers.
Counsel secured standing for both organizations to present to the Legislative Assembly’s pre-budget hearings and worked collaboratively with the organizations’ other consultant on a municipal outreach strategy that secured official resolutions of support from over half-a-dozen municipal governments.