HALDIMAND—Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Bobbi Ann Brady is working with provincial Green Party leader and Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner on a co-written member’s bill aimed at creating a foodbelt that would protect Ontario’s agricultural businesses and communities from being paved over or dug under.
Bill 21 – The Protect Our Food Act, 2025 was announced at a joint press conference where the two MPPs shared the stand ahead of announcing the bill on the floor at Queen’s Park last week.
“Ontario loses 319 acres of farmland each and every day to things like low density urban sprawl, aggregate mining, and highways like Highway 413, and I believe that tariff-proofing Ontario’s economy starts with protecting the farmland that feeds us and the farmers that grow that food, and the 875,000 people who work in the food and farming sector, contributing over $50 billion to Ontario’s economy,” said Schreiner.
The foodbelt the bill proposes would be created through the efforts of a joint task force made up of farmers, agricultural experts, and land use planners from across Ontario.
“Now, more than ever, is the time to protect our farmland, support farmers, and grow more food right here in Ontario,” said Schreiner. “Food security is national security.”
Schreiner said in a follow up video that the bill has received support from numerous agriculture and food farming operations.
In the video, Brady commented, “319 acres can produce more than 23 and a half million apples, 1.2 million bottles of Ontario VQA wine, or 37.1 million strawberries. If we don’t protect our food producing land, we will send shockwaves through our economy with the loss of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), labour, technological jobs, and even damage our rural main streets.”
In a follow up statement to The Press, Brady said both her and Schreiner have been strong farmland protection advocates since arriving at Queen’s Park in 2022.
“Both MPP Schreiner and I hear from people across the province who respect our spirit of cooperation on this very important issue,” said Brady.
If passed, the task force would be responsible for creating a set of recommendations for a foodbelt protection plan that addresses “key priorities including reducing land speculation, improving soil health, and protecting and enhancing farmland,” according to Brady.
She noted that while the task force would be farmer-led, it would also bring others with a stake in rural Ontario who have an interest in land use planning and preservation to the table.
“The bill also sets goals for the enhancement and protection of land and soil health in the foodbelt and strategies for implementation. In the zest to get shovels in the ground and build homes, I believe there are some in this province who have lost sight of the fact we need to feed people in homes. We can’t feed them without productive land on which to grow food,” said Brady.
She accused the provincial government of taking the $50 billion in revenue generated by agricultural industry for granted.
“I think governments forget the other investments made by farm families, like the fact agriculture is a cornerstone of rural communities, providing economic opportunities and contributing to local infrastructure and services,” said the MPP. “We have all witnessed the erosion of main streets in small towns with small business shutting down. We can’t afford to any more hollowing out. And we can’t afford to lose any more STEM-related trade jobs that support farmers and farms.”
Bill 21 is not MPP Brady’s first crack at a farmland protection bill. In 2023, Brady’s first-ever public member’s bill, Bill 62, was voted down 68-29 at Queen’s Park.
That bill, similar to Bill 21, took aim at aggressive development targets desired by Doug Ford’s Conservatives, asking the Ministry of Agriculture, Foods, and Rural Affairs to develop an action plan aimed at protecting Ontario’s farmlands from development, aggregate mining, and fluctuating commodity prices. Brady also proposed the establishment of a stakeholder-led Farmland and Arable Land Advisory Committee, which would advise the Minister on issues of agricultural concern.
Despite that loss, Brady is feeling optimistic about the new bill.
“The ballot date for this bill is August 2026; therefore, MPP Schreiner and I have a great deal of time to travel and hear feedback,” she said.
While neither MPP can change the long wait for a vote, with Brady expressing a desire to see changes made “immediately,” she is hopeful that eventually, the government at large will see things her way.
“At some point this government must prove it has not forgotten rural Ontario and agriculture as helping fuel the province’s economic engine. At some point they will have to stop the constant subtraction of productive land so we may preserve the ability to feed future generations,” she said.
