Members of the National Farmers Union (NFU) gathered on Parliament Hill Wednesday to demand a ban on investor ownership of farmland.
The demonstration was organized by the NFU Youth Caucus and Farm Workers’ Working Group. The goal was to demand protection of food sovereignty and help farmers, especially young ones, gain more access to farmland.
Why it matters: Investor ownership represents a major barrier for Canadians to enter a shrinking agriculture industry.
NFU Youth president Jessie MacInnis said young farmers in particular have been feeling the strain of a lack of access to affordable farmland.
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“As young people, this is a really critical issue,” MacInnis said. “There are already so many barriers for young people to get into agriculture, and the fact that land prices have risen so much due to the speculative nature of farmland now… that’s a barrier that’s hard for all of us to overcome.”
The demonstration was part of the NFU’s “Lobby Day” ahead of its annual convention, running Nov. 23-25 in Ottawa.
“We’re here today, as one of our lobby asks, to ask the federal government to have discussions with provincial lawmakers to talk about ways that we can actually ban all farmland investment,” she said.
“Essentially, we just want to keep the farmland in the hands of farmers and keep it accessible for young people.”
Ontario farmer Rav Singh said she has had trouble finding land since she began farming two years ago.
“I cannot afford to buy my own land because, again, land prices are increasing.
“We are the next generation of farmers and we are facing a lot of land speculation, the cost of land is rising, which means it is harder for us to start our farms and operate and have job security,” Singh said.
“It’s really important for me to support causes like this, because I would like to continue growing food for as long as I can.”
Singh did not come from a farming background, and lived in the city her whole life before she began farming.
“Up until recently, a lot of people who were farmers were intergenerational farmers. But now, it’s a new wave of people coming in.”
Singh said she thought the wave of young people getting into farming was a way of taking action to build a better future amid concerns about climate change.
Regional board member and Fraser Valley, B.C. organic vegetable farmer Ari Westhaver
“It’s not preventing investors from buying up farmland,” Westhaver said. “So, while physically it protects farmland from being lost, it does not prevent loss of farmland from farmers into the hands of investors.
“The reason I’m here today as a young farmer is that we’re currently in the midst of a transition crisis, we’re seeing a generational shift where 40 per cent of farmers in … Canada are planning to retire in the next few years, but nobody has a transition plan,” he said.
“The only plan that they have, as deeply indebted farmers is to sell their land for a profit, and the reason they’re able to do so is farmland has been kind of divorced from its productive value, and it’s now something people speculate on.”
The NFU published an open letter ahead of the demonstration outlining its concerns.
“Farmers have the right to determine how their food is produced and need equitable access to productive resources,” the letter read. “Young farmers are up for the challenge. But land speculators and multinational investors are snatching up Canada’s farmland, and with it, our future.”
— Jonah Grignon reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.
