Ontario tobacco belt

The Ontario tobacco belt is the tobacco-growing region located in Norfolk County and eastern Elgin County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Being close to the north shore of Lake Erie, the region has moderate climate with sandy and silt-loam soils well-suited to a wide variety of crops.

High-value horticultural crops are valuable here and can be grown with relative ease. About 90% of all tobacco grown in Canada is produced here. Members of Parliament elected to ridings in the Ontario tobacco belt have strong pro-tobacco policies in addition to other policies in the interest of their rural constituents.

Historically speaking, the Ontario tobacco belt is considered to be focused in the rural area immediately surrounding the towns of Delhi, Aylmer and Tillsonburg. Additional tobacco farms can be found in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and near Joliette, Quebec.

United Empire Loyalists introduced the tobacco crop after fleeing northwards from their established farms following the American Revolution. However, the first official tobacco plot wasn't planted in Norfolk County until 1920.

From the beginning of the 20th century to the 1960s, the coastal portion of the Ontario tobacco belt was threatened with desertification. Only by planting coniferous seedlings was the desertification finally stopped. More than 25% of Norfolk County is considered to be forested.

The Ontario tobacco belt would experience its economic zenith during the 1950s and 1960s. During those decades, most communities in the Ontario belt (as well as their residents) were reasonably affluent from the economic gains that the tobacco farms made. The song Tillsonburg by classic country music performer Stompin' Tom Connors would capture the hard working spirit of the Ontario tobacco belt during the middle of the 20th century. A that started in nearby would devastate several tobacco farms in the tobacco belt back during the late 1970s. Recent tornadoes have not been as severe as the one that occurred in the summer of 1979, even when taking global warming into account.

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Wikipedia