Power in Policy: Measuring Farmland Loss in Ontario and Testing the Strength of the Greenbelt Act

Farmland in Ontario continues to be under immense pressure from development associated with population growth and urbanization, such as residential subdivisions, commercial developments and aggregate operations. This OMAFRA funded research investigates the strength of the Greenbelt Act in preserving Southern Ontario’s prime agricultural soils by measuring the rate of farmland lost to non-farm land uses from 2000—2017 through official plan amendments. This methodology was applied to 15 counties and regions in southern Ontario and the results provide an assessment on the Greenbelt policy in place. This presentation will report on phase one of this research project (completed) including trends and results from specific jurisdictions and then provide an update on phase two, which extends across the province and is currently underway.