Morning, Grower.

Election day in Ontario is on February 27th.

Because getting up to speed takes a ton of time… we put together an election cheat sheet below.

Find out where you can vote here: https://www.elections.on.ca/en.html

Ontario Election Agriculture Cheat Sheet

While there are many topics political parties look at in their campaigns, we’ve boiled it down to 4 topics that are most relevant to agriculture — tariffs & trade, farmland protection, regulations & financial support, and rural community investment.

📊 Tariff & Trade Policy

PC: Has been countering tariff threats and encouraging the federal government to distribute any tariff revenue to those most impacted.

NDP: Wants to launch a Buy Ontario campaign to support local goods and promote interprovincial cooperation to remove trade barriers.

Liberal: Will create a Fight Tariffs Fund to give Ontario businesses access to lower-than-market interest rates to reduce borrowing costs. Also, they will work with other provinces to remove interprovincial trade barriers.

Green: Is looking to create a Protect Ontario Fund for businesses disproportionately impacted by tariffs and will work with other provinces to remove trade barriers.

🖼️ Farmland Protection

PC: Likely to streamline regulatory processes and support smart land‑use planning that protects prime farmland while facilitating development.

NDP: Will want stronger measures to prevent urban sprawl and promote policies to protect farmland.

Liberal: Wants to protect prime farmland, including the Greenbelt and champion a sustainable agri-food sector to support farmers and rural communities.

Green: Looking to establish an Ontario Foodbelt to preserve farmland from speculative development.

📜 Regulations & Financial Support

PC: Likely to cut red tape by streamlining approvals. They are providing $10B in cash-flow support for Ontario employers through a six-month deferral of provincial taxes as a tariff response. They will also fight the federal carbon tax and aim to make the 2022 gas tax cut of more than five cents a litre permanent.

NDP: Is looking to remove caps on the Risk Management Program (at least to ease tariff impacts) and provide enhanced financial support and wage improvements for farm workers and producers.

Liberal: Likely to pursue some regulatory reforms on farmers while maintaining oversight and are looking to enhance the Risk Management Program.

Green: Say they will invest in local food hubs to support small farmers and businesses, better support agricultural innovation and increase funding to the Risk Management Program. Wants to prohibit highways in the Greenbelt.

🌾 Rural Community Investment

PC: Likely to channel investments into rural infrastructure projects (roads, broadband, community facilities) that directly support agricultural operations and economic growth.

NDP: Likely to increase funding for rural community programs, including local food hubs and services that strengthen the social and economic fabric of farming regions.

Liberal: Likely to propose targeted funding packages that enhance rural infrastructure, for example, creating a “Local Food Development Fund" to support innovative local agricultural and food processing projects.

Green: Likely to advocate for affordable community development — but also generally focused on providing rural and northern Ontario with funds to improve infrastructure.

Go vote!

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