More than one million Canadian households want to learn about gardening in 2022, a number that adds to the number of gardeners converted during the pandemic and before, reveals a survey produced by Dalhousie University and the firm Angus Reid, whose the results were released on Tuesday. Never, says the report, has gardening been so popular in Canada.
Posted yesterday at 10:00 a.m.
At the start of the pandemic and in full containment, the Laboratory of Analytical Sciences in Agri-Food at Dalhousie University and the firm Angus Reid surveyed the Canadian population on their gardening habits. Two years later and in a context where grocery prices are rising considerably, the partners are again interested in the subject, this time emphasizing the ways Canadians garden and what motivates them to grow food at home.
It shows that more than half of Canadians (52%, up from 51% in 2020) already grow fruits, vegetables or herbs at home, while 8% plan to do so this year. Of the number of new gardeners, 85% live in towns and 46% are under 35 years old. These figures reflect the situation in Quebec, where 53% of the population maintains some form of vegetable garden – 6% having started to do so during the pandemic – and where 8% wish to do so for the first time this season. This percentage ranks the province second in Canada for the number of its new enthusiasts, tied with Ontario and behind the Atlantic provinces.
“Age is a particular factor this year,” notes Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Laboratory of Analytical Sciences in Agrifood.
More and more young people intend to learn gardening and they represent nearly half of new gardeners in Quebec.
Sylvain Charlebois, Director of the Laboratory of Analytical Sciences in Agrifood
Another data is displayed with more insistence two years later: gardening in the city. “People are realizing that you don’t need a flowerbed or a backyard to garden. You can do it on your balcony and indoors. Gardening is accessible to everyone. »
Gardening for pleasure and the plate
Canadians love to garden. This is also the reason given by 74% of the population who engage in this activity considered a pleasant pastime. Other arguments add to this motivating factor. For half of the respondents (49%), it is a question of the superior quality of food grown at home, while the concern for economy (41%) and the fear of a food shortage (12%) are also pointed out.
“If in 2020, food insecurity was a strong argument to encourage people to grow their food at home, this consideration is partially redirected to concerns about food affordability and freshness”, further observes the director of the Laboratory at the outcome of this new pulse-taking with Canadians.
Lack of space (55%), time (39%) or knowledge of gardening techniques (27%) remains a barrier for 55% of those who do not garden. Only 5% of respondents point to a lack of interest. Even if the number of gardeners remains roughly the same as in 2020 – some having given up on the way, while others have joined the movement – the figures from this new report show that the craze for gardening is “ at least as intensive and more committed in the country than two years ago,” says the Laboratory of Analytical Sciences in Agri-Food.
It is clear that COVID-19 has given new impetus to gardening, even two years after the start of the pandemic, underlines Sylvain Charlebois. “The number of gardeners has only increased by 1% in the last two years. It is not so much in terms of figures that we see this momentum as in the quality of investment in this activity. The 51% of gardeners before COVID-19 may not have been as strong as today’s 52%, which includes many followers and people who believe in gardening, want to do it and do it. understand. »
It remains to be seen whether the enthusiasm for gardening will remain so fervent. Sylvain Charlebois has no doubt about it. “However, the rate of gardening has increased in Canada, and people who get involved are slowly becoming insiders who will continue to garden for a while,” he says. We learned gardening. And the most important part of home gardening is learning about and enjoying food production. It is not only a way of allowing the countryside to approach us, but also a way of building bridges between the rural world and the urban world. »
The poll was conducted among 1,501 Canadians and conducted in partnership between Dalhousie University and Angus Reid during the month of April 2022, with a margin of error of +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.