bor input. Even the raising of livestock—and Cana-
dian agriculture is roughly divided between crops
and livestock raising—involves relatively little labor.
By 1991, Canadians living on farms accounted for
just 3.2 percent of the population, though the con-
centration was greater on the plains—16 percent in
Saskatchewan, where most of Canada’s grain is pro-
duced. The cereal crops produced on the plains are
well suited to mechanization; the farms on the plains
are large, and production is totally mechanized.
Output About 40 percent of Canada’s agricultural
produce is exported, and about half of this comes
from cereals, chiefly wheat and oil seeds. Almost all
of this is grown on the plains, especially in Saskatche-
wan, but also in Alberta and Manitoba. However,
during the 1990’s, the development of new hybrid
varieties of corn led to the production of significant
corn crops in Quebec and Ontario. Those parts of
the country with substantial urban centers also saw
the growth of vegetable and fruit crops, as this pro-
duce could be easily sold in the urban markets. In
the most southerly part of Canada, in the province of
Ontario alongside Lakes Erie and Ontario, even a
modest wine-producing capacity was developed,
matching that in the portions of the United States
adjoining the lakes. Although, as in the United
States, organic foods made up a very small portion of
agricultural output, the industry grew rapidly over
the years in the vicinity of urban markets.
Livestock, the other major agricultural output, is
raised throughout Canada, particularly on the
plains, where beef cattle are extensively grazed, and
in Quebec and Ontario, where smaller creatures,
both pigs and poultry, are produced. The beef cattle
industry saw considerable consolidation during the
1990’s, with many smaller packing plants near urban
centers closing and production becoming concen-
trated in big facilities on the plains. The production
of industrial pork generated, in Canada as in the
United States, significant environmental issues
mainly dealing with the disposal of manure. During
the decade, a large pig processing operation in Que-
bec helped create a facility to reprocess vast volumes
of pig manure.
Government Intervention Because of the vagaries
of weather and other factors (such as transportation
costs of large volumes of low-value output to the mar-
ket), there was major government intervention in
agriculture during the 1990’s. Throughout Canada,
there are cooperative marketing units to which
farmers can voluntarily turn over their produce. The
exception is Quebec, where all farmers are required
to be members of the agricultural cooperative. In
Canada, wheat, the major crop, is marketed by the
Canada Wheat Board, which sells into the interna-
tional market. Subsidies are also provided by the Ca-
nadian Grain Commission, the Livestock Feed
Board, the Western Grain Transportation Board,
the Agricultural Stabilization Board, and other enti-
ties devoted to particular agricultural products.
Supply management, controlled by the prov-
inces, ensures that output of milk, eggs, chickens,
and turkeys do not outrun demand. In addition, the
federal government imposes strict limits on the im-
portation of livestock feed. These policies resulted
in prices frequently exceeding those in the United
States during the 1990’s, although pressure was
building during the decade to reduce the controls
in these areas.
Canada suffered in international agricultural
markets during the 1990’s because the major subsi-
dies provided by the United States and the Euro-
pean Union for their agricultural producers had
marked effects on international pricing. Despite its
membership in the G7 (Group of Seven), Canada
had modest clout in international arrangements be-
cause of its relatively small population, so it had to
tailor its government policy to limited opportuni-
ties. However, it privatized some major operations in
agriculture. Archer Daniels Midland, a major Ameri-
can corporation, took over some formerly coopera-
tive activities in Canada, notably a grain elevator in
1993, and a flour miller. The Saskatchewan Wheat
Pool, an agricultural cooperative, converted itself
into a private corporation during the 1990’s, and
the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, formerly
owned by the government, went private during the
decade.
Impact During the 1990’s, Canada was a major con-
tributor to the world’s supply of agricultural pro-
duce. The capacity of its great plains to produce the
wheat and oilseeds that a growing world population
required ensured its continued important role in fu-
ture world trade negotiations.
Further Reading
Britton, John N. H., ed.Canada and the Global Econ-
omy: The Geography of Structural and Technological
Change.Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press,14 Agriculture in Canada The Nineties in America