The Ontario tobacco belt is the tobacco-growing region located in Norfolk County and eastern Elgin County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The region is close to the north shore of Lake Erie, with a moderate climate and sandy, silt-loam soils that are well-suited to a wide variety of crops. High-value horticultural crops thrive in this region, including 90% of all tobacco grown in Canada. Members of Parliament elected to ridings in the Ontario tobacco belt have strong pro-tobacco policies in addition to other policies in the interest of their rural constituents. Historically, the Ontario tobacco belt is composed of the rural area immediately surrounding the towns of Delhi, Aylmer and Tillsonburg. Additional tobacco farms can be found in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and near Joliette, Quebec.
History
United Empire Loyalists introduced the tobacco crop after fleeing northwards from their established farms following the American Revolution. However, the first official tobacco plot wasn't planted in Norfolk County until 1920. From the beginning of the 20th century to the 1960s, the coastal portion of the Ontario tobacco belt was threatened with desertification. Only by planting coniferous seedlings was the desertification finally stopped. More than 25% of Norfolk County is considered to be forested. The Ontario tobacco belt experienced its economic zenith during the 1950s and 1960s. During those decades, most communities in the Ontario belt (as well as their residents) were reasonably affluent from the economic gains that the tobacco farms made. The song Tillsonburg by classic country music performer Stompin' Tom Connors captured the hard working spirit of the Ontario tobacco belt during the middle of the 20th century. A devastating tornado that started in nearby Woodstock devastated several tobacco farms in the tobacco belt in 1979. That tornado was the most severe in the area to date. In the early 2000s, the main cigarette factory in the area, Imperial Tobacco, moved over seas to Brazil to continue production. As the older farmers retire, their children will most likely seek different career paths. Tobacco farms would eventually be sold to their neighbours; this has a domino effect. This domino effect ultimately results in fewer farmers having more acreage creating a further sense of economic inequality in the area.
Recent history
The longstanding dominance of tobacco in the region has been on the wane in recent years. In 2002, politicians from the Ontario tobacco belt opposed several anti-smoking measures, causing a non-smoking group to give the Ontario government a failing grade at that time. The tobacco belt members of Provincial Parliament were responsible for scaling back a proposed tobacco tax from $10/carton to $5/carton. They failed to implement a public smoking ban (until the Smoke Free Ontario law was passed in 2006). On August 8, 2008, tobacco farmers in this region were given $300 million to buy out their entire tobacco quota. All of the money was raised from a $1,000,000,000 fine against Imperial Tobacco and Rothman's Benson & Hedges. After receiving the money, farmers that signed the buy-out are permitted to grow any crop except for tobacco; switching to raising livestock like cattle, poultry, or pigs is completely legal under this plan. Only about one thousand farm families still produce tobacco in the entire belt. Motivation to cease tobacco farming has been accelerated by health issues and high tobacco taxes. Farmers who never agreed to the tobacco buy-out may grow as much tobacco as their farmland allows through a special tobacco growing licence that was created on the week of May 15, 2009. Relatives of the farmers (either blood relatives or relatives through marriage) who agreed to the buy-out can still grow tobacco on the original farmer's land with a tobacco growing licence. However, this right does not extend to the farmer himself who can still manage the farm but not own it in his name. Farmers must also find a company that will buy his product; otherwise he cannot grow tobacco until next year. Attempts by local youth sports leagues to prohibit the usage of tobacco amongst players, coaches, referees, and even spectators has been successful in a region that was once dominated by the massive profits of Big Tobacco. Currently, Tillsonburg is under a strict bylaw aimed at reducing levels of outdoor second-hand smoke. This by-law was passed on May 14, 2012 by Tillsonburg Town council; prohibiting the usage of tobacco and tobacco-related products within 9 metres or 30 feet of certain buildings intended for families and/or children.
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