New Foodbelt to Protect Ontario Farmland

Summary#

This bill creates a new committee to design a “Foodbelt” plan that protects a large, unbroken area of farmland in Ontario. It also changes zoning rules so agricultural land cannot be rezoned without a study that looks at the impact on farming.

• Sets up a Foodbelt Protection Plan Advisory Committee with farmers, soil experts, planners, and farm groups.
• The committee has 12 months to publish recommendations, and the Agriculture Minister must report on progress within 60 days after that.
• A zoning change on land already zoned for certain agricultural uses will need an Agricultural Impact Assessment (AIA), even if done by a Minister’s Zoning Order (a special provincial order that changes zoning).
• The plan is expected to map the Foodbelt, limit non-farm development, allow reasonable exceptions (like agritourism and on-farm processing), reduce land speculation, and set soil health goals.
• It also calls for restricting new gravel and stone extraction in agricultural areas within the Foodbelt.

What it means for you#

• Farmers

  • Stronger protection against farmland being converted to housing or industry.
  • Possible tools to fight land speculation, like land trusts (keeping land in farming) or better farm succession planning.
  • Likely support for on-farm processing, agritourism, and selling local goods as exceptions.
  • Clearer long-term soil health goals and practices.

• Rural residents

  • More farmland preserved and less risk of large non-farm projects in protected areas.
  • Fewer new aggregate pits (gravel and stone) in the Foodbelt, if the recommendations are adopted.

• Homebuyers and renters

  • Housing growth may be steered away from protected farmland, which could shift where new homes get built.
  • Little immediate change to current housing, but future rezoning on farmland will face extra steps.

• Developers and builders

  • To rezone agricultural land, an Agricultural Impact Assessment will be required. This adds cost and time.
  • Minister’s Zoning Orders cannot bypass this requirement on covered agricultural lands.
  • Limits on aggregate extraction in the Foodbelt could affect material sourcing for construction.

• Municipalities and planning staff

  • Cannot pass zoning by-laws that change uses on covered agricultural land without an AIA.
  • Will need processes to review AIAs once provincial regulations set the standards.
  • Less flexibility to convert farmland; planning will likely focus on non-agricultural areas and infill.

• Food consumers

  • Aims to protect local food production over the long term by keeping a continuous base of farmland.
  • No immediate change at the grocery store.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Protects Ontario’s food supply by stopping the steady loss of farmland to sprawl.
• Creates a continuous Foodbelt so farms can operate efficiently, not as isolated patches.
• Requires impact studies before rezoning, bringing more transparency and fairness, even for provincial orders.
• Helps keep farmland affordable and in production by discouraging speculation.
• Sets soil health goals that support climate resilience and long-term productivity.
• Reasonable exceptions (like agritourism and on‑farm processing) let farms innovate and stay viable.

Opponents' View#

• Could slow or limit housing and job‑creating projects by adding a new assessment step and restricting where growth can go.
• Adds costs and delays for municipalities and developers to complete and review Agricultural Impact Assessments.
• Reduces local and provincial flexibility by binding both councils and the Minister to the same constraint.
• Potentially lowers land values for owners who hoped to convert farms to other uses.
• Restricting aggregate extraction in the Foodbelt may raise construction costs or shift pits to other communities.
• The scope of “prescribed agricultural uses” and the Foodbelt boundaries may be broad or unclear until regulations and the plan are finalized.