Background

In 1972 the Federal government expropriated 18,600 acres (7,530 hectares) of land in Pickering, Markham, and Uxbridge for an international airport. Part of the federal Pickering Lands (10,200 acres) were transferred to Parks Canada in 2015 and 2017 and Rouge National Urban Park (RNUP) was created. Parks Canada maintains these lands as agricultural and natural heritage and leases the land to farmers. Agricultural properties include fields ranging in size from 2 to 200 acres and RNUP offers long-term secure leases for up to 30 years.

In January 2025, the Government of Canada announced that the Pickering Lands will not be used for a future airport site. The Government also announced its intent to transfer lands with high conservation value to Parks Canada to expand Rouge National Urban Park.

Transport Canada, as custodian of the Pickering Lands, is working closely with Parks Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Canada Lands Company, and Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada to assess options for the future uses of the lands, accounting for a range of priorities including conservation and potential residential and commercial development. No decisions on the future uses of Pickering Lands have been made to date.

The intent to transfer lands with high conservation value to RNUP does not reflect a decision to do so. As the government states themselves, most of these lands contain Class 1 agricultural soils, and approximately 87% of the lands are currently leased for farming. Other proposed uses for the land include residential, commercial and other development opportunities, and to provide a corridor for the Alto High Speed Rail Line. This means that some lands currently being used for public agricultural leases could be taken out of production for other land uses.

Of the federal lands that remain unprotected and outside of RNUP, 6,700 acres are cultivated and primarily zoned Class 1 farmland. This quality of land is exceedingly rare; only 5% of Canada’s land mass is suitable for agriculture, and only .5% is Class 1. These lands are currently rented to cash-crop tenant farmers under short-term leases. This model does not appreciably improve soil health or offer opportunities for new entrant farmers to access land.  

The Region of Durham Official Plan has these goals for agriculture in the region:

• 9.1.1 To establish a Rural System that supports agriculture and aggregate extraction as key economic industries, and existing rural settlements which support residential, social and commercial functions for the surrounding area.
• 9.1.2 To support community food security.

• 9.1.3 To protect and maintain agricultural land for future generations.
• 9.1.4 To support a healthy and productive agricultural industry as an important element to the Region’s heritage, identity and its economic base.

The Vision 

Adding the remaining 9,600 acres of unprotected ‘airport’ lands to RNUP and offering the arable land to new, young and equity-deserving food-producing farmers through 30-year renewable leases would help transform the area into a permanent regional food hub, serving Canada’s largest urban market.

Expansion of RNUP has the potential to: 

• strengthen local agriculture and the local economy
• protect some of the best farmland in the province
• provide ecological services and reduce GHGs
• support the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry soil report recommendations, and help meet Natural Heritage Conservation targets
• support new, young and equity-deserving farmers with a new farmer entrant strategy, and connect new and young farmers with farmland leases on public farmland, as well as support them through the initial development of their agricultural businesses
• restore and revitalize the local community within and adjacent to the park

The Impact

Local Agriculture and the Local Economy

Rouge National Urban Park supports more than 60 farmers, most of whom grow corn, soy, and wheat. There is ample opportunity to expand the commodities grown in RNUP and showcase the richness of Rouge’s agricultural heritage and the exceptional capabilities of these soils for growing food.  

Economic analysis convincingly suggests that if the remaining Pickering agricultural lands (6,700 acres) were to become part of a regional food hub under 30-year renewable leases, the agri-tourism economic benefit could rival that of Niagara or Prince Edward County with the potential of increasing:

• Annual expenditures by the farm sector and agri-tourists from the present $3.7 million to $103.5 million.
• Economic activity in the York-Durham region from the current $4.4 million to $130.4 million, and across Ontario from the current $7 million to $221.2 million.
• The number of food and farm related jobs from the current 32 within York-Durham region to 1,459, and from the current 44 to 2,051 across the province.
• Tax revenues from the current $1.6 million to $43.5 million across all of Ontario, of which $20.6 million would go directly to the federal government.

Farmland Protection

The remaining unprotected Pickering Lands, primarily Class 1 farmland, represents a significant portion of Canada’s best agricultural land, 50% of which is located in southern Ontario. We are losing farmland at an unsustainable rate of 319 acres per day. Government protection of the Pickering lands would show how government intervention can help protect this finite, non-renewable resource. Without farmland we cannot feed a growing population.  

Ecological Services, Soil Health and Natural Heritage Targets 

A 2012 study found that the Rouge National Urban Park and its surrounding watershed generates $114 million per year in non-market economic benefits such as cleaner air and water, carbon storage, and easier movement for wildlife. That’s $145 million per year in today’s dollars.

The estimated 1,105 acres of Pickering lands not used for farming, like wetlands, woodlots, and streams provide invaluable ecoservices. The David Suzuki Foundation values those services at $6.1 million per annum. This estimate doesn’t fully account for the additional contributions of the lands to aesthetics, recreation, culture, agri-tourism, heritage and as a habitat for endangered species. These 1,105 acres would also contribute to meeting the federal Natural Heritage Conservation Program’s objectives of protecting 30% of Canada’s lands and inland waters by 2030.

The protection of 6,700 acres of prime farmland would support the recommendations in the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry report, Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human, and Social Health, including promoting soil health and agricultural and forestry land preservation. 

Support New, Young And Equity-Deserving Farmers

As outlined in the National Farmers Union – Ontario (NFU-O) “Rooting for Tomorrow: An Equitable Land Access Policy Framework for Ontario’s Next-Generation Farmers” policy framework report, new, young and equity-deserving farmers who have gained access to land through long-term leasing opportunities on public land report that they are able to directly serve their local food system and contribute to sustainable agriculture models. Long-term leasing opportunities are important for farmers to be able to invest in the land and contribute to the building of healthy soils. 

A new entrant farmer strategy would connect new and young farmers with farmland leases on public farmland, and support them through the initial development of their agricultural businesses. Federal-provincial cost sharing supports for agriculture that have been successful in other provinces include: 

• The New Entrant Farmer Strategy and land-matching services operated by Young Agrarians in B.C. were developed with the help of SCAP cost-share funding.
• l’Arterre, a land matching service with wrap-around support in Quebec was developed with the help of Growing Forward 2 cost-share funding.

There is a critical need to support new farmers, as the average age of Ontario farmers is over 55 and many are close to retiring without any succession plan. As land costs skyrocket, young farmers are being priced out of the market, leaving only developers, speculators, and expanding large corporate farms capable of purchasing land.  With minimal infrastructure investments, and a new farmer entrant strategy for the Pickering farmlands, an expanded RNUP would support a diversity of intensive, sustainable, and profitable farm enterprises producing a range of quality foods that cater to the area’s multicultural population. This feasible strategy would be a win for producers, consumers, all governments, and the remaining natural areas around Canada’s largest urban core.

Restore and Revitalize the Rural Community

Beyond the fields, the current RNUP plays a pivotal role in supporting a population of around 500 residents and roughly 200 homes, the majority of which are under farm tenancy. There is an opportunity to restore and replace rural farmsteads on the remaining Pickering lands, and provide much needed affordable housing for new, young and equity-deserving farmers and farm workers, which is one of the barriers faced with accessing land. 

National Farmers Union – Ontario

8075 Maynard Road

Orono, Ontario, L0B 1M0

March 4th, 2026