Timeline of Waterloo Region’s plan to purchase Wilmot Township properties

Fight For Farmland protest outside Wilmot Township's council meeting on Aug. 26, 2024. (Colton Wiens/CTV News)

A group of landowners in Wilmot Township discovered in March that the Region of Waterloo wanted to purchase a large parcel of farmland for future “shovel-ready projects” that would “secure thousands of new jobs and bring billions of dollars of investment” to the local economy.

Since then, the region has been met with pushback from farmers and landowners who say there are still many unanswered questions about the purchase 770 acres between Nafziger Road, Bleams Road and Wilmot Centre Road.

Here’s a timeline of CTV News’ reporting.

March 22: Landowners find out the Region of Waterloo is looking to purchase 770 acres of land across six different Wilmot farm properties. Landowners said they felt blindsided by the potential sale, reporting that they didn’t receive official expropriation documents. The group also expressed their concerns over the disruption it could cause to both farmers and the community. The region stated that they were trying to put together a shovel-ready site for future large-scale development.

March 26: Farmers said they were told to sell their land or face possible expropriation by the Region of Waterloo. A representative for property owners and concerned citizens spoke to Wilmot Township councillors at a meeting on March 25. Around 200 people were there in person and another 300 attended online. Spokesperson Alfred Lowrick told council farmers felt there should be more consultation throughout process and don’t believe the area is right for future development.

Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife told CTV News she wrote a letter to Premier Doug Ford and the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, calling for more transparency and public consultation. The ministry said questions would be better answered by the municipality.

Some of the land the Region of Waterloo is trying to purchase in the Township of Wilmot on March, 26, 2024. (Colton Wiens/CTV Kitchener)

March 27: Officials with the Ontario Farmland Trust call for more transparency and accountability surrounding the plan to purchase the 770 acres of land.

April 3: Regional Chair Karen Redman addressedthe region’s plan to acquire the farmland in an email to members of Nith Valley EcoBoosters. It said the region remains committed to balancing “the protection of our natural environment with facilitating economic opportunities to support a high quality of life for residents.”

April 4: Farmers in Wilmot said no updates have been shared with them from the region and begin their seeding process.

Landowners confirm that they have secured a lawyer on retainer to represent them if needed.

Expropriation protest signs in Wilmot Township on April 4, 2024. (Chris Thomson/CTV Kitchener)

April 5: A group of business leaders weigh in on the Region of Waterloo’s proposal to buy farmland, saying they are in favour of the plan.

April 10: Wilmot council responds to community concerns over the region’s proposed acquisition of farmland.

April 11: Premier Doug Ford addresses Wilmot land acquisition saying the region’s plan to buy a large tract of Wilmot farmland for an unidentified industrial project is part of a broader provincial strategy to ready sites for development, but one aspect of the proposed deal “doesn’t sit well” with him.

April 17: Marit Stiles, the Ontario NDP leader, announces the party will be hosting its own town hall to address the Wilmot Township farmland fiasco.

April 19: Stiles hosts a town hall where she calls the controversial land acquisition “eerily similar” to the Greenbelt scandal.

Kevin Thomason with the Grand River Environmental Network speaks at a news conference hosted by the Ontario NDP on April 19, 2024 in Wilmot Township. (Zoom)

April 22: A community member sends a letter to Wilmot Township asking for the creation of an “Agricultural Advisory Committee” to close the gap between council and farmers.

April 25: Families of farmers share their concerns about farm operations, saying they would be significantly impacted if the region goes ahead with the land assembly project.

April 26: Ontario’s Minister of Economic Investment, Job Creation and Trade says a number of companies have shown interest in the Wilmot land.

A map shows the land the Region of Waterloo wants to buy. (Graphic by Hayden Phillips/CTV Kitchener)

April 30: The local business community weighs in on the land dispute between the region and a group of Wilmot famers.

May 23: A group of protestors, worried about Waterloo Region’s efforts to buy or expropriate land in Wilmot Township take their concerns to MPP Mike Harris.

June 12: Two Wilmot councillors show support for the farmers involved in the controversial turf war with the region.

June 19: Landowners protest at Region of Waterloo’s headquarters over Wilmot land deal.

Protestors held signs outside of Region of Waterloo headquarters on June 19, 2024. (Tyler Kelaher/CTV News)

June 21: Landowners hold the first of two town halls to discuss the region targeting the six parcels of land.

July 10: Wilmot farmers say the Region of Waterloo denied 21 freedom of information requests on farmland expropriation.

July 18: Waterloo Region said they’ve secured one third of Wilmot farmland property.

July 29: Questions are raised over the disappearance of crops from farmland bought by the region.

August: Regional council asks for a report on corn crop destruction and what actions were taken to mitigate loss.

Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli stands at a podium in front of a Golden Windows Ltd. truck during a funding announcement on August 22, 2024. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News)

Aug. 15: Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, and Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris issue a joint statement on the Wilmot land assembly process. They express their “disappointment” in the way the Region of Waterloo has handled the situation and the “lack of transparency.” Redman said she was stunned by the joint statement.

Aug. 22: Fedeli is asked again about the controversial plan. He reiterated that the region is responsible for how the process has been handled and the provincial government’s only part has been providing the funding.

Aug. 23: Fight For Farmland said the Region of Waterloo denied another freedom of information request. This time they asked to see an itemized list of surveys and assessments completed by the region. Two rallies are planned for the following week.

Tractors make their way down the road on Aug. 28, 2024 as part of a rolling protest against the sale of Wilmot farmland.

Aug. 26: Fight For Farmland stages a protest at a Wilmot council meeting.

Aug. 28: Another Fight For Farmland protest. A tractor convoy travelled from Bleams Road to regional headquarters where they met up with other demonstrators. Once inside council chambers, they spoke passionately about the importance of keeping useable farmland. Council, once again, asked staff to put together a report on the destroyed corn and agreed to set new rules for dealing with crops on land they plan to acquire in the future.

Sept. 23: Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife and John Vanthof, the MPP for Timiskaming-Cochrane, send a letter to Ontario’s auditor general requesting a “value-for-money” audit of the controversial land assembly process.

Sept. 24: A new report on the corn crop removal is set to be presented to regional council.

Remnants of destroyed corn crop are held in this photo.

Sept. 25: Advocates express anger at the staff report on the corn crop removal, saying: “We hopes that this report would shed light on why this event took place, and who was responsible. Alas, it does neither.” The report stated that the crop was destroyed to allow for an archeological assessment and “due to various requirements of the parties associated with the land assembly process, it was not possible to delay the removal.”

Oct. 1: About two dozen farmers take their protest to Premier Doug Ford. They silently held up signs when Ford spoke at the opening ceremonies of the International Plowing Match in Lindsay, Ont. The Premier was also overheard saying that he didn’t understand the “secrecy” surrounding the project and claimed the process was “mishandled.”

Nov. 13: Fight for Farmland once again demands a delay in the Wilmot land assembly process, but this time, they cite the uncertainty surrounding the results of the recent U.S. presidential election. Specially, over the president-elect's promise to pause funding for clean energy and climate programs, as well as auto manufacturers' move away from electric vehicle (EV) production.