Who should own farmland in Saskatchewan? It was a question asked by the provincial government to stakeholders earlier this year and the results were released Wednesday.
The overwhelming majority said it should not be owned by foreigners or pension funds.
Among the key findings, 87 per cent did not support foreign ownership of farmland, 69 per cent said there should be no foreign financing and 75 per cent opposed allowing investors to purchase farmland.
“The purpose of the consultations was to inform government on how best to approach farmland ownership, and the results are clear,” said Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart.
“The vast majority of respondents do not support pension plans or foreign investors purchasing farmland in Saskatchewan. They do, however, support our government in taking a stronger role in enforcing farmland ownership rules.”
The results of the consultation come on the same day a report was released by PwC Canada and the Urban Land Institute saying farmland in the Saskatoon region is becoming attractive to foreign investors.
“Sometimes people scratch their head about Saskatoon, but over the last several years we’ve seen a lot of interest in Saskatoon, from an agriculture and timber perspective,” Chris Potter, a partner at PwC Canada, told reporters during a roundtable Tuesday.
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Stewart said the results of the farmland ownership survey will be used to help the government make decisions for the “long-term success and sustainability of our province’s agricultural industry.”
What those next steps are will be announced later this fall.
With files from The Canadian Press
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