Ontario Greens announce plan to support Ontario farmers

February 5, 2025

WELLINGTON COUNTY — The Ontario Greens announced their Grow Ontario Plan to support Ontario food and farmers.

“Ontario’s $50 billion food and farming sector is an economic engine that employs over 875,000 people and drives our province forward,” said Ontario Greens leader Mike Schreiner.

“Our rural communities are the foundation on which the entire sector relies, and yet Doug Ford is abandoning those very same communities with his focus on wasteful spending in downtown Toronto.”

“Greens know that farmers are Ontario’s key to food security. Now more than ever, it’s crucial we give them the support they need to deliver high-quality, healthy and locally grown food to the people of our province. At the same time, we can build the homes our province needs without sprawling onto our prime farmland.”

“As someone who has worked in agriculture for 25 years, I know just how important the food and farming sector is to my community, and across the province,” said Bronwynne Wilton, Ontario Greens’ candidate for Wellington-Halton Hills.

“We have some of the best farmland in the world, but we’re losing it at an alarming rate of 300 acres per day. Our plan will protect that farmland that feeds us and give farmers the support they need to grow their businesses and bottom lines.”

Ontario Greens’ Grow Ontario Plan would support local food and farmers by:

• Immediately increasing funding to expand business risk management programs by $150 million annually
• Prioritizing Ontario-grown food by developing local procurement guidelines for public sector purchases, establishing a fund to increase local processing capacity and investing in local food hubs to support local farmers, supply chains and businesses.
• Creating an AgTech Innovation Fund to support innovation in the food and farming sector
• Introducing a provincial program to pay farmers for environmental goods and services by working with organizations such as ALUS (Alternative Land Use Services).
• Mandating the permanent protection of farmland through the development of an Ontario Foodbelt.

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