Canada’s Farm Population Falls To Historic Low

December 2, 2008- Canada's farm population has fallen to an historic low as farmers age and immigrants shun rural life.

Statistics Canada says one in 46 Canadians lived on a farm in 2006 compared to one in three Canadians in 1931.

Census data suggests the farm population is also aging – more than 11 per cent of people living on Canadian farms in 2006 were over 65.

Although the number of immigrants is rising, their numbers are falling in rural Canada.

Immigrants made up almost nine per cent of the nation's farm population in 1971.

But immigrant farmers made up only seven per cent in 2006.