Foreword

In a country as big as Canada, it is easy to take farmland for granted. There is a lot of it. Except there isn’t. Canada is the second largest country in the world, but not in the top ten when it comes to agricultural land. Canada has done well in getting the most out of its relatively small amount of agricultural land. That land helps feed the country and the world, is the starting point for a value chain that includes Canada’s largest manufacturing sector and is key to Canada’s economic growth and Canadians’ well-being. But that small amount of land is also facing big pressures. Urban expansion and housing shortages, increasing land values and climate change emphasize the need to boost agricultural production, productivity, and sustainability, while recognizing farmland as a geopolitical asset that strengthens Canadian sovereignty and security. And this is especially true in Ontario’s Greenbelt.

The Greenbelt in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) is where many of these pressure points intersect. It is the line between urban expansion and the agri-food economy. It is where conservation meets population. It is where the need to feed the country meets the need for a place for those people to live. It is where Ontario’s farming past meets its food technology future. It is where domestic food security meets a trade corridor to the world.

CAPI’s recent work on Policies for Land Use, Agriculture, and Nature (PLAN) has focused on advancing policy solutions that address the pressures on Canada’s agricultural land base while protecting farmland, preserving nature (and biodiversity) and promoting food security. This paper continues the work, exploring these issues and more in the context of a future vision for the Ontario Greenbelt to present a call to action to ensure its continued success in the future.

Key Takeaways

• Ontario and its agri-food system have changed significantly in recent years with even bigger shifts expected over the next decade. Population growth, the need for more housing, new land use policies, tariffs, and trade disruptions, increasing demand and food insecurity, and climate change are pressing challenges that must be addressed.
• The Ontario Greenbelt is a strategic asset that drives growth and reduces risk in Ontario’s significant agricultural economy. It protects critical farmland, promotes local food, and addresses food security and can be leveraged to provide solutions to help Ontario grow in challenging times.
• Farmland in the Greenbelt serves a high-value and thriving agri-food system and food industry cluster that is an economic driver for Ontario. Recognizing the Greenbelt as an economic engine for the province could help drive investments that would mitigate risks and uncertainties.
• Strengthening the Greenbelt can boost food manufacturing and accelerate growth in an innovative sector that serves local and global markets and replaces imports.
• The Greenbelt balances pressures from urban expansion that risk hindering the sector’s productivity, growth, and food security. But this balance is at risk. Strengthening capacity and collaboration in land use planning and decision-making can protect that balance.

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