Canada: More of the farm population is living in urban areas
Who are Canada’s farmers? New federal data provides a snapshot
By Eric Stober
Global News
Aug 25, 2023
Excerpts:
Finally, more of the farm population is living in urban areas, with 24.5 per cent doing so in 2021, up from 16.1 per cent in 2016 and 7.5 per cent in 1971.
The greatest proportion of the farm population living in urban areas was reported in Newfoundland at 42.2 per cent, followed by B.C. at 37.8 per cent and Alberta at 28.3 per cent.
The makeup of Canada’s farmers and how they operate appears to be showing some changes, according to federal data.
In a report, Statistics Canada said Friday that farm households are becoming more diverse and smaller, and more farm operators are living in urban areas.
It’s also becoming more common for farmers to diversify their income, as farming industries face significant challenges ranging from drought, fires and climate change to evolving consumer tastes, worker shortages and global price pressures.
Canada’s farmers are still mostly made up of older people and men, the report said. It defined “farm population” as farm operators — those who manage the farms — and their households.
In 2021, over half the farm population were men, at 52.5 per cent. Just under half of Canada’s population are men (49.4 per cent). Meanwhile, in 2021, more than four in 10 male farmers were 55 years old and older, compared with 31.2 per cent of the total population who were in that age bracket.
