70% of Wilmot farmland purchased for future industrial site, region says

Hannah Kavanagh · CBC News

· Posted: May 14, 2025 4:01 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The Region of Waterloo says it has purchased 70 per cent of the onshore it wants successful Wilmot Township arsenic portion of its plans to make an concern tract for aboriginal use.

In a media merchandise Wednesday, determination Chair Karen Redman said this is simply a "major milestone" that gets the portion "significantly person to securing semipermanent concern and economical prosperity locally."

"It is imperative, present much than ever, that Waterloo portion beryllium acceptable to enactment Canadian manufacturing and well-paying, section jobs," Redman said.

This announcement follows a contentious onshore conflict successful Wilmot Township that started past year. In March 2024, 12 landowners of six farmland properties and six residential properties were told the portion wanted to acquisition their land.

Affected landowners received compensation offers from the portion and were told that if they refused to sell, their onshore could perchance beryllium expropriated. 

In the merchandise Wednesday, the region said it is "committed to ensuring just and equitable agreements for landowners."

The portion has been working to get 770 acres of onshore (312 hectares) adjacent the intersection of Nafziger Road and Bleams Road for aboriginal concern use. The region maintains it has lost retired connected imaginable concern opportunities from large players successful the past due to the fact that of their deficiency of shovel-ready land. 

According to the region, the country was chosen for respective reasons, including:

• A large, contiguous improvement footprint.
• Immediate entree to Highway 7/8 and arterial proscription routes.
• Existing hydro, water, and wastewater infrastructure.
• Location extracurricular h2o extortion areas.

The portion initially planned to person each onshore purchased by August 2024. In July 2024, the portion had announced on-site method analysis was acceptable to instrumentality place after it had purchased astir one-third of the 770 acres it said it needed.

WATCH | Wilmot tractors question to Kitchener for farmland protest:

The concern truthful far

A analyzable roadworthy followed the region's archetypal announcement that they would get the onshore needed for development. Some groups, similar farmers arsenic good arsenic provincial and national elected politicians, opposed the task and said it would negatively impact farmland, nutrient maturation and h2o access. 

This was bolstered successful July 2024 erstwhile the portion faced disapproval for plowing implicit a maize harvest aft it purchased a farm.

On Wednesday, the portion responded to that disapproval by saying "planting volition proceed connected lands wherever appropriate. No existing harvest volition beryllium removed and immoderate existing harvest volition beryllium harvested erstwhile ready."

Some, however, saw the onshore acquisition effort arsenic indispensable advancement for the portion successful the aftermath of a colonisation boom. 

A radical called Best WR —comprised of the presidents of section chambers of commerce, economical development, Communitech and Explore Waterloo Region — penned an unfastened missive successful April 2024 supporting the region's plans. They said concern opportunities were actively being mislaid by the region's deficiency of co-ordination and disposable space.

The portion had said their enactment of onshore was thorough and based connected a fig of qualifications. They besides noted that caller concern projects would make much jobs and assistance enactment the increasing colonisation of residents.

The portion has not disclosed immoderate different specifics astir however the onshore would beryllium utilized and has said determination is nary institution wanting to usage the land.

Fight for Farmland, a radical advocating against expropriation of Wilmot lands, believed that negotiations wouldn't prime backmost up until aft the Ontario provincial election. Although the portion is successful complaint of the onshore acquisition process, it was confirmed that the state was providing the funding. 

As Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives clinched different mandate successful February, a caller information loomed overhead: Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, would springiness furniture powerfulness to exempt itself from laws connected definite projects by designating them "special economical zones."

Until now, galore Region of Waterloo councillors recovered themselves unsure of what they were capable to accidental successful nationalist astir the plans to acquisition farmland. They said successful September 2024 that they were restricted by a non-disclosure statement (NDA). 

Wilmot Township councillors had besides called for much transparency from the portion astir plans to bargain farmland.