AI Analysis: Employees in the agriculture sector, and agricultural operations with at least one employee, by province

Executive Summary

Canada's agricultural sector employed nearly 281,000 workers in 2024, reflecting modest 3.9% growth since 2016, driven primarily by a 14.8% surge in full-time employment that signals a structural shift toward year-round work. The sector is dominated by seasonal labour (nearly half of all employees) and is geographically concentrated, with Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta together accounting for the majority of the national workforce. Farm consolidation is evident, as the number of agricultural operations with at least one employee declined 5.8% over the period, even as total employment grew.

Key Findings

• Total agricultural employment in Canada grew 3.9% from 270,513 in 2016 to 280,991 in 2024, peaking at 282,411 in 2018.
• Full-time employment saw the strongest growth of any category, rising 14.8% from 90,551 to 103,948 between 2016 and 2024, indicating a structural shift toward more stable, year-round agricultural work.
• Seasonal employees remain the largest workforce category at 136,603 (nearly half of all agricultural workers), but declined slightly by 2.9% over the period.
• The number of agricultural operations with at least one employee fell 5.8% from 41,184 to 38,790, pointing to ongoing farm consolidation across Canada.
• Ontario leads all provinces with 83,363 agricultural employees in 2024, followed by Quebec (69,717) and Alberta (37,946), with these three provinces accounting for the majority of Canada's agricultural workforce.
• Newfoundland and Labrador has the smallest agricultural workforce at just 1,240 employees — 67 times fewer than Ontario — while all four Atlantic provinces employ fewer than 6,000 workers each.
• Statistical outlier analysis found only 1 data point exceeding 2 standard deviations from provincial historical averages, confirming that Canadian agricultural employment trends were remarkably stable from 2016 to 2024.