In the 16th centurySamuel de Champlain andGabriel Sagard recorded that theIroquois andHuron cultivated the soil for maize or "Indian corn".[1] Maize (Zea mays),beans (phaseolus),squash (Cucurbita) and thesunflower (Helianthus annus) were grown throughout agricultural lands in North America by the 16th century. As early as 2300 BC evidence of squash was introduced to the northeastern woodlands region. Archaeological findings from 500 AD have shown corn cultivation in southernOntario.[2]
Eastern Canada was settled well before theWest. Immigration and trading posts came later toRupert's Land and theNorthwest Territories. The early immigrants combined European agricultural and domestication procedures with the indigenous knowledge of the land and animals of the area.
As early as 1605, the FrenchAcadians builtdikes inthe Maritimes forwheat,flax, vegetables,pasturage and marshland farming.[3] Dairy production is the main contribution ofNew Brunswick,Nova Scotia, andPrince Edward Island, along with livestock andmixed farming ventures. A small percentage of land is put into use infruit farming as well along Nova Scotia's northwest coastal areas.TheAmerican Revolution, 1775–1783, and its attendant food decline resulted in 3100 hectares cleared inNewfoundland. In the early 19th centuryIrish immigrants began arriving who cultivated the land in Newfoundland.[4] A very small percentage of the land is suitable inNewfoundland and Labrador for horticultural or crop production because there is a lot of forested andtundra geography. The province has some dairy production and farming concerns. Following World War II, farm training was available at the Government Demonstration Farm. Bonuses were paid for such things as the purchase ofpure-bredsires, land clearing, and agriculture exhibition assistance to name a few. The industry offish processing for food is the largest agricultural contribution from Newfoundland. Newfoundland fisheries, supplycod for the most part, followed closely byherring,haddock,lobster,rose fish,seals, and whales. The fishing industry depends very heavily upon exports andworld conditions.[5]
Agriculture in the West started withPeter Pond gardening plots atLake Athabasca in 1778. Although large-scale agriculture was still many years off,Hudson's Bay Company traders,gold rush miners, andmissionaries cultivated crops, gardens and raised livestock.[3] TheNorthwest Territories,Yukon, andNunavut are covered with theCanadian Shield, and rocky outcrops, sub Arctic forest soils, and stony phases make up most of the geography. It is an area of comparatively smaller population and not commercially exploited for the most part.Whaling,prawns, andtrapping food processing contribute to agricultural food production here.[6]
InNew Francehops,hemp and livestock were introduced in 1663. Theseigneurial system of farming was adopted in Quebec.[7] Quebec's agricultural sector relies heavily on its fruit and vegetable production. In 1890, a competition began to encourage farmers to improve their farms to achieve theAgricultural Merit Order. County farm improvement contests were begun about 1930 involving over 5,000 farms and their evolution over five years. They have some interests in livestock and mixed farming and dairy as well. From 1947, anartificial insemination and breeding centre has been operating inSaint-Hyacinthe, Quebec for breeders clubs.[8][9]
Canadian officials saw farming as one possible key to assimilating Indigenous peoples on the Canadian prairies in the nineteenth century. Some Indigenous nations also saw farming as a key practice to help adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, including the decline ofbison populations. As such, agricultural promises became part of a number of Treaty negotiations.[10] However, some Canadian policies, like thePeasant Farm Policy, ultimately undermined the ability of First Nations to viably farm on reserves.[11] According to historianSarah Carter, such policies were designed in part to limit the competitiveness of reserve farming.[12]
TheBritish enforced Corn (Cereal grains) laws, 1794–1846, protected the British agricultural sector from imports ofBritish North American wheat. TheReciprocity Treaty, 6 June 1854, developed a trade agreement between Canada and the United States which affected trade of wheat grown in Ontario.[13] NorthernOntario is mainly tundra and forested area, whereas southern Ontario has lands suitable for livestock and general farming as well as geography suitable for pasture and dairying industries. Fruit farming can also be found in southern Ontario. Ontario is the largest producer of mixed grains,soybeans and shelled corn in the country.[14] The province is also home to nearly all tobacco farms in Canada, the majority being situated in theOntario tobacco belt. In the2011 Canadian Census there were 137 tobacco farms located in Ontario, three in Quebec, and one on Prince Edward Island.[15]
Lord Selkirk, founder of theRed River Colony, harvested the first wheat crop in thewestern prairies in 1814.Red Fife wheat was introduced in 1868.Swine were brought to the Red River colony as early as 1819. The frontier land of southwestAlberta and southeastSaskatchewan were opened toranching in the 19th century.[16]Manitoba has a combination of mixed grain, livestock, and mixed farming industries in its southernmost areas.Cattle ranching aroundLake Manitoba is also quite successful. Northern Manitoba consists of extensive lakes and forested geographical areas.[17]TheDominion Lands Act of 1872 offered agricultural pioneers an opportunity to"prove up" a quartersection of land (160 acres/65 hectares) in western Canada for a $10.00 filing fee and three years of improvements combined with residence on the land.[18] Saskatchewan still has cattle ranching along its southwestern corner; grain farming and crops such as wheat,oats, flax,alfalfa, andrapeseed (especiallycanola) dominate theparkland area. Mixed grain farming, dairy farms, mixed livestock and grazing lands dot thecentral lowlands region of this prairie province.[19]
Alberta is renowned still for itsstampedes, and cattle ranching is a main industry. The agricultural industry is supplemented by livestock and mixed farming and wheat crops. Alberta is the second largest producer of wheat in Canada. Grain and dairying also play a role in the livelihoods of Alberta farmers.[20]
The open parkland area extends across the three prairie provinces: Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Canada's production of wheat, oats, flaxseed, and barley come mainly from this area.Meat processing is the largest industry here, followed by dairy production, breweries, and the subsidiary industry of agricultural implements.[21]
Between 1896 and 1920 the great Canadian wheat boom was stimulated by rising prices, railway construction and prairie settlement, and supported by new agricultural technology. In 1923 Canada supplied 53.3% of British grain imports and was the world's largest wheat exporter. Britain was still the country's major wheat export market well into the 1960s. The prairies became one of the world's most monocultural landscapes, wheat being 80% or 90% of all the crop in many areas. The network of railways, canals and elevators extended for nearly 3000 miles. Grain standards were established by the Grain Standards Committee and became the standard of the world. Up to 2000 boxcars were inspected in Winnipeg daily with samples taken from each car through 11 equidistant coincident apertures to establish a cross section of the entire truck. The terminal elevators inPort Arthur, Ontario andFort William, Ontario handled more wheat than any other port on earth.[22]
British Columbia is covered in highlands; its eastern boundary is theRocky Mountains. Agricultural production in British Columbia supplied the gold rush industry, mining and logging industries. Agricultural producers relied on these local markets, following the economic boom and bust of each enterprise respectively. The British Columbia Fruit-Growers' Association was established in 1889 to foster an export market of this commodity.[23] TheCanada Agriculture Museum preserves Canadian agricultural history.[24] In 2015, there are approximately 20,000 farms in B.C. that are involved in agricultural activity, such as dairy, livestock, fruit and vegetable farming.[25]
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