Targeted Wilmot Township farmland slips away
Waterloo Region says it now has 70 per cent of what it wants
Nelson Zandbergen
Farmers Forum
WILMOT — Waterloo Region is getting closer to locking up all of the Wilmot Township farmland it has controversially targeted for future industrial development. The regional government claims to have “secured” 550 of 770 coveted acres, or 70 % of its goal, according to a May 14 press release touting the “major milestone.” That’s up from about 30 % last summer when only one of six farmers with land inside the desired area agreed to sell.
The jump in acquired acres follows the recent conditional purchase of land from two more of those farmers.
One of the farmers who sold, speaking on condition that his name not be used, said he couldn’t talk about the deal because of a non-disclosure agreement. But he told Farmers Forum that he felt as if he had “a knife on the throat” in advance of the sale.
“I have a rotten feeling about it,” he admitted.
He promises to reveal all when no longer bound by an NDA. “Because there’s a lot of shit,” he said.
“I’ve learned a couple of things,” he added. “If you trust a politician, you’re on sinking sand, and politicians don’t lie only when they keep their mouth shut. And they’re steered by other people, by staff — and they make the rulings.”
John Jordan, a core member of a local group opposing the land assembly plan since it went public in early 2024, said the latest two sales involved farm families currently dealing with disability and cancer treatment. He suggested the Region targeted them for that reason as perceived “low hanging fruit” who would “cave a lot easier.”
Farmers have been “bullied and harassed into submission,” the life insurance retailer and licensed electrician alleged, describing the whole “dysfunctional” land acquisition process — including lack of transparency — as “just gross.”
It’s possible the remaining farmers with unsold land could be out of luck at this point, he said. The Region might conclude that 550 acres is enough and “just build around” the remaining farmers, Jordan speculated.
For its part, the Region says it wants to avoid further “missed opportunities” from lack of a large, shovel-ready industrial tract. It claims there is no company currently waiting in the wings. However, because the province is funding the land purchases — spending a reported $18 million last year — it lends the impression of an urgent or imminent project. A media report even pegged Toyota as the intended developer, though the company denied it.
About $16 million of the money spent to date went to the first farmer that sold out, according to Jordan, who questioned the advisability of assembling the land at a time of economic and trade uncertainty. He noted the irony of the Region’s latest announcement, coming one day after Honda paused its $15 billion electric vehicle plans in Ontario. “What company in their right mind is going to want to start anything right now?”
Wilmot already has almost 1,200 acres of industrial land south of Breslaw anyway, he said.
