AgricultureID

Country agriculture profile · North America

Canada

Canada is a major exporter of wheat, canola, barley, and pulses, with production dominated by the vast rainfed grain and oilseed systems of the Prairie provinces. A short but long-day growing season shapes crop choice, favouring cool-season cereals, oilseeds, and legumes, while livestock production centres on extensive beef cattle in the west and supply-managed dairy and poultry in the east. The sector is highly mechanised and strongly oriented toward international grain and oilseed markets.

Stable overview + dated statistics6 subnational regions →Updated: 2026-07-12

Farming systems (stable overview)

Climate zones

  • Humid continental
  • Boreal / subarctic
  • Cold semi-arid (Prairies)
  • Temperate oceanic (Pacific coast)

Agroecological zones

  • Canadian Prairies
  • Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands
  • Fraser Valley and Okanagan (British Columbia)
  • Atlantic Canada

Dominant crop systems

  • Rainfed wheat, canola, barley, and pulses across the Prairies
  • Maize and soybean in Ontario and Quebec
  • Horticulture and tree fruit in British Columbia and the Niagara belt
  • Short-season cereals and forages at the northern margin of cultivation

Major livestock systems

  • Extensive cow–calf beef cattle on the Prairies
  • Supply-managed dairy concentrated in Ontario and Quebec
  • Confined hog production
  • Confined poultry under supply management

Irrigation: Most cropland is rainfed; irrigation is concentrated in the semi-arid southern Prairies (notably southern Alberta) and in intensive horticulture in British Columbia.

Latest verified data

Each value is the most recent available observation, shown with its own year and unit. Figures are periodically revised — treat them as dated, sourced statistics, not evergreen facts.

Latest available agricultural indicators, with year and unit
IndicatorValueUnitYear
Agricultural land6.47% of land area2023
Arable land4.34% of land area2023
Arable land per person0.95hectares per person2023
Cereal yield3,694.7kg per hectare2023
Cereal production59,240,420.77metric tons2023
Agriculture value added1.93% of GDP2022
Employment in agriculture(est.)1.13% of total employment2024
Forest area39.46% of land area2023

Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12

Cereal yield over time

201220182023
Canada — Cereal yield (kg per hectare). Bars start at zero.
Show data table
Canada — Cereal yield in kg per hectare by year
Yearkg per hectare
20123,456.3
20134,160.4
20143,647
20153,673
20164,239.1
20174,104.8
20183,914.7
20194,010.8
20204,091.9
20213,119.8
20224,078.7
20233,694.7

Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12

Derived indicator

Arable land as a share of agricultural land: 67.1 % of agricultural land (2023)

Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (4.3) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (6.5). A derived ratio, not an observed statistic. Sensitive to rounding and to differing revision cycles of the two source series; omit rather than extrapolate when a common year is unavailable.

Documented crops & livestock

Agricultural institutions

  • Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) — Federal department responsible for agriculture and agri-food policy and research.
  • Statistics Canada — National statistical agency; conducts the Census of Agriculture.
  • Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) — Food safety, plant, and animal health regulation.

Data coverage & limitations

Covered by the World Bank WDI snapshots for land, production, yield, economy, inputs, and environment indicators.

  • Statistics are dated, versioned, and periodically revised; always read them with their year and dataset version.
  • National statistical definitions (of agricultural land, farm, and employment) differ from those of other countries, limiting strict cross-country comparison.
  • A short frost-free season and the northern limit of cultivation constrain which systems the national aggregates represent.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]World Bank Open Data — World Development Indicators (opens in a new tab)

    World Bank

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Agricultural statistics (WDI)

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Global production and food-systems context

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  3. [3]FAOSTAT — FAO statistical database (opens in a new tab)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Production, area, and trade statistics

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  4. [4]USDA FAS — Foreign Agricultural Service (opens in a new tab)

    USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: International grain and oilseed trade estimates

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    Global (U.S. perspective)
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12