Canada is the world’s largest exporter of pulses, and ranks among the top exporters of grains and cereal crops. Tyler Groeneveld, CEO of Protein Industries Canada, and Leif Carlson, vice president of markets and trade at Cereals Canada will dive into the strengths and opportunities of Canada’s agri-food value chain in a panel moderated by Elisabeth Saftiuk, president and CEO of Manitoba Chambers of Commerce. This session will touch on Canada’s position in global markets, the role of innovation in competitiveness, and how the sector can adapt to evolving market conditions.
Tyler Groeneveld is the CEO of Protein Industries Canada, one of the country’s five Global Innovation Clusters dedicated to advancing growth in Canada’s food production, ingredient manufacturing and agriculture ecosystem.
With more than 31 years of leadership experience in Canada’s agriculture and food industry, Tyler has built a career focused on advancing innovation, sustainability, and value creation across the agri-food value chain. Before joining Protein Industries Canada, he held senior leadership roles with Corteva Agriscience and its legacy companies, most recently serving as Commercial Lead for North America.
Leif Carlson is the vice president of markets and trade at Cereals Canada. Leif leads efforts to promote Canadian cereals and protect the interests of the value chain in global markets. Since September 2025, he has also represented the sector as a director with the Canadian Agri Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), advocating for fair, open, and predictable trade.
Leif holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Saskatchewan. Before joining Cereals Canada, he held roles in sales, market analysis, and logistics with the Manitoba Department of Agriculture and the ag industry.
Elisabeth Saftiuk is the president and CEO of Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, where she advances strategic priorities that reflect the evolving needs of Manitoba’s business community.
Her work focuses on economic competitiveness, labour force development, energy, and trade policy, with a particular emphasis on reducing interprovincial trade barriers to strengthen Manitoba’s internal market. She also champions issues affecting women in business, ensuring policy decisions consider their impacts and fostering greater engagement of women across the Manitoba Chambers network. In addition, Elisabeth leads work on childcare policy, recognizing its importance to building a more inclusive and resilient provincial economy.
Since 2020, Agriculture Enlightened has brought together a diverse audience including more than 1,450 producers, agri-food and technology experts, industry leaders, decision-makers, researchers, and students from across North America and the globe. Our audience has consistently praised the depth of expertise our speakers bring to the conference, the variety of subject matter, and the many opportunities throughout the day to network. In 2026, we look forward to building on the success of our past events. Purchase your early bird tickets today.