1. What is a “land tenure system”?

A set of formal and informal relationships about accessing, using and governing land and the means to define, sustain and change those relationships over time.

Why ALTS?

Building alternative agricultural land tenure systems (ALTS) for better food systems:

• agroecological principles and practices

• more equitable land relations

• community-based decision-making

Canada’s farmland context

• Drivers: demographics and farm succession; rising land values; farmland financialization

• Law and policy: few federal/provincial policy or legal frameworks

• Indigenous land justice: title, sovereignty and small ’t’ treaty relations

National Farmers Foundation

• Farmer-led national charitable organization

• Addressing patchwork of third-sector initiatives

• Is there a role for a national third-sector model in Canada?

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2. Portrait of ALTS in Canada

Development of ALTS to date has been localized and decentralized:

• national inventory of ALTS

• farmer-experiences and comparative research

• identifying needs and building supports

ALTS in Canada

Diverse “models” across the country…

• Regional trusts: regional/provincial-scale entities from tradition of farmland conservation trusts

• Community trusts: local entities designed to build leaseholder equity without speculative investment; community-based governance

• Social purpose trusts (Quebéc): leverage formal trust structures (trustee/beneficiary) to enshrine social objectives

• Co-operatives: horizontal member-based/democratic governance within well-defined statutory regimes

• Others (employee ownership trusts; land condominium)

But…

ALTS frequently mix and match design strategies: the “right model” seem less important than what works on the ground.

Building ALTS that work:

• ALTS as transition pathways, not static models: structure vs social learning

• Farmland users want means to build shared equity to sustain their livelihoods, keep land accessible, and realize community benefit

• Farmland access is also about safe and inclusive rural spaces

• Short and long-term success means planning for the next transition

Case study: “who still knows how to organize a barn-raising”?

• Structure: co-op to co-op tenure

• Governance experiments: probationary periods, different membership roles, feedback loops

• Policy Lesson: target supports to critical intervention points in ALTS transition pathways

Case study: from housing as key constraint to equity-enabler

• Structure: public to co-op tenure

• Equity-building tools: ground leases as flexible devices for benefit sharing

• Policy Lessons: organizational housing policies/practices as high-impact interventions; legal barriers to ground-lease equity; land use regulation for multiple housing units

Case study: planning for the next transition

• Structure: land trust to individual leasehold tenure

• Farmer reserve pool: revolving fund managed by the land trust through re-mortgaging, earmarking capital improvements

• Policy question: how to balance the needs of incumbent and new-entrant farmers in future transitions?

Supporting ALTS

• Farmland stewardship for access

• Legal supports (tenure design + governance, leasing, charitable status)

• Shifting perspectives on land ownership and community benefit

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