Spring
2016
grainswest.com
27
GROWING INVESTMENT IN FARMLANDCREATES DIFFICULT DECISIONS
FOR FARMERS ANDGOVERNMENTS
HEN CONFRONTEDWITH THE QUESTIONOF
who owns western Canadian farmland, the most
obvious answer is farmers—and in the majority of
cases, this is true. However, concerns have started to emerge
about the impact of “outside” or “non-traditional” farmland
ownership on farming communities and the agricultural industry
as a whole.
Worldwide, purchases of large areas of farmland by
governments, agribusiness companies, hedge funds, pension
funds and other non-traditional actors have become more and
more common during the last decade. This global “land grab”
can be seen on a much smaller scale within Canada—where
legislation in most provinces severely limits foreign investment,
but allows Canadian investors and companies to buy farmland
as they see fit.
TYLER DIFLEY
ILLUSTRATIONS BY
PETE RYAN
A variety of investment companies, pension plans, private
investors and farmer-investor hybrids own varying amounts
of farmland across Western Canada. Most of this farmland
is located in Saskatchewan and Alberta, which contain the
largest proportion of Canadian farmland at 38 and 32 per
cent, respectively, according to Farm Credit Canada (FCC).
Until recently, the farmland ownership rules in each province
were quite similar—both allowed Canadian citizens and
Canadian-owned entities to purchase farmland. In Alberta,
foreign citizens and foreign-controlled corporations can own
a maximum of 20 acres of farmland. In Saskatchewan, they can
only own up to 10 acres of farmland. Due to these restrictions,
foreign ownership of farmland on the Prairies is minimal and
has little impact on land values or the farming community.
Instead, it seems that for many in rural communities, the real
