Lək̓ʔəŋən [LEKWUNGEN] TERRITORY / VICTORIA, B.C. — Leader of the BC Greens and candidate for Saanich North and the Islands, Emily Lowan announced the BC Green party’s plan to reform British Columbia’s agricultural system.
“As we face a trade war from the South, and more frequent climate disasters, our food security is becoming increasingly vulnerable. That’s why localized production, control and consumption is so important—but B.C.’s farmland has been put up for sale,” said Lowan. “Under the current Agricultural Land Reserve system, there is no restriction of foreign or corporate ownership, and no requirement to farm productive land—leading to the rapid accumulation of B.C.’s farmland by American billionaires.”
The BC NDP have failed to act on this issue for years, with the BC Greens introducing legislation to ban foreign ownership of farmland in 2017; something that the NDP have consistently ignored.
“Selling off our farmland to foreign interests and megacorporations not only drives out British Columbian farmers,” said Lowan, “but turns our food supply into a tax scheme for the ultra-wealthy. That’s why the BC Greens will restrict foreign and corporate farmland ownership, fund an Agricultural Public Land Bank to connect farmers with affordable farmland, and give local governments the power to tax unused farmland.”
Please find the full Food and Agriculture policy brief below.
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Media contact
Prym Goodacre, Media & Campaigns Officer
+778 650 0597
newsroom@bcgreens.ca
The BG Greens believe that by working towards food sovereignty, we can improve food security
while creating a vibrant, sustainable food system that values farmers and strengthens
community resilience.
As the climate crisis worsens and trade disputes continue, the ability of British Columbia to
maintain our own food supply will become one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. The
BC Greens believe that food sovereignty is about more than economic resilience – it’s about
healthy and culturally appropriate food, about farming within ecological limits, about looking after
the people and systems who produce food and put it on our tables.
In the words of the Nyéléni Declaration: Food Sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced
through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and
agriculture systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and
consume food at the heart of the food system rather than the demands of markets and
corporations. It defends the interests and inclusion of the next generation.
We urgently need to invest in food security, steward our farmland, and support our farmers. For
too long, provincial agriculture policies have benefited large corporations and prioritized exports
at the expense of local food systems and the economic well-being of family farms. The BC NDP
have had years to address this issue, with the BC Greens introducing legislation to ban foreign
ownership of farmland since 2017; something that the NDP have consistently ignored.
The BC Greens will prioritize building a food system that puts local and regional economies first
rather than the current system that seems to prioritize absentee investors and agribusiness
conglomerates. We will ensure BC-grown food ends up on BC tables, not just on container
ships.
The Agricultural Land Reserve protects the five percent of British Columbia with the greatest
agricultural capacity. It doesn’t however place limits on the ownership of that land – making
British Columbia an outlier, risking the health of our agricultural system, and limiting
opportunities for new and younger farmers. By protecting agricultural land in our communities,
expanding local food production, and investing in local food systems and processing
infrastructure, we will strengthen our regional food networks and reduce dependence on distant
sources. This will create a more resilient and self-sufficient food system for all British
Columbians. It also reduces the financialisation of farmland – something that contributed to the
average value of cultivated farmland rising 11.3% in 2024, increasing pressure on new farmers and making farming less affordable. This is playing out in communities across British Columbia, with the town of Dunster, in the Robson Valley being a prime example. US-based billionaires have bought up 3,500 acres in the small community – pushing up prices, and leaving homes and
properties vacant, hollowing out a tight-knit farming community.
The Dunster Farmland Coalition have been a driving force in pushing the Government to act on this issue, including
working on bringing the extent of the issue to light, given the lack of transparency on foreign
ownership of agricultural lands.
The BC Greens will:
● Protect BC’s farms and food security by restricting non-resident and investment firm
ownership of farmland. Specifically, the BC Greens will limit ownership of Agricultural
Land Reserve Land parcels greater than 4 hectares only to citizens and permanent
residents of British Columbia, unless they demonstrate intent to become residents and
establish themselves within four years.
● Make food sovereignty part of the Agricultural Land Commission’s mandate, to protect
and prioritize agricultural use, and provide additional funding and staffing to fulfill that
mandate.
● Improve public data on who owns BC’s farmland, how ownership is changing and how
agricultural land is being used, so governments, researchers and the public can better
understand emerging trends and develop effective policy.
● Empower municipalities to be able to tax productive farmland that is being left idle.
● Develop a public interest test for significant farmland purchases to ensure that they
support the long-term interests of BC’s agricultural land base, food production, and
farming communities.
● Incentivise regenerative farming practices that build healthier soils, improve water
management, reduce energy use and sequester carbon.
● Streamline the approvals process for water storage dugouts on farms to improve drought
resilience and water availability.
● Commit the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship to work with farmers to
ensure the protection of food crops during drought periods.
● Facilitate public institutional procurement of local food, ensuring schools, hospitals and
other institutions prioritise locally produced food.
● Support the development of systems to address food insecurity in First Nations
communities that honour First Nations knowledge, values, harvesting areas and
practices.
● Create a school food program that provides opportunities for schools, community
organisations and farmers to promote sustainable practices and educate children on
healthy eating habits.
● Protect and expand BC’s reserve of farmland by establishing a publicly owned
agricultural land bank for lease by new farmers.