Greenhouses

Area has doubled in 10 years

The greenhouse industry continued its dramatic expansion between 1996 and 2001 when the area under cover increased 42.1%. During the past 10 years, it has more than doubled.

In 2001, the area under glass, plastic or other protection for all Canadian greenhouses reached 197.5 million square feet, or 4,535 acres. The average greenhouse area covers three-quarters of an acre.

Much of the increase is going south: tomatoes from Canada's greenhouses are attractive to the U.S. market, where produce grown in greenhouses built on cheaper Canadian land and sold in a lower-valued dollar are more competitively priced than "home-grown" tomatoes from California or other sunshine states.

All provinces posted gains in greenhouse area. In 1996, Ontario accounted for 45% of total area. By 2001, its share had reached just under 50%. Most of the expansion was in southwestern Ontario's Essex County.

British Columbia was a distant second in greenhouse area, with 50.0 million square feet, although the area under cover increased by more than 61%.

Vegetables overtaking flowers

Flowers, which accounted for 47% of the area in 2001, are still the main greenhouse product. However, greenhouse vegetables were a close second at 43% and are increasing their share faster than flowers. Consumers have become used to having fresh produce year-round, and are willing to pay more for it.

The remainder of the greenhouse area was devoted to other products such as seedlings.