Agricultural restructuring and Ontario tobacco production

This thesis seeks to describe and evaluate the particular restructuring of flue-cured (cigarette) tobacco agriculture in southern Ontario which has faced pressures unique to its industry, as well as those related to the general modernization and industrialization of Canadian agriculture. The evolution of southern Ontario flue-cured tobacco, from its commercial origins in the early 1900s to represent one of Canada's most lucrative crops, is described here in three significant stages. From the early 1920s to 1959, or Stage 1, Ontario flue-cured tobacco agriculture experienced rapid expansion due to increased domestic demand for cigarettes. Stage 2, extending from 1960 to 1981, represented a period of initial restructuring and industry reorganization. During Stage 3, the period between 1982 and 1996, anti-smoking lobbies and government legislation have reduced domestic demand for tobacco products. Due to these external pressures, the tobacco industry has undergone significant changes to its structure.;This thesis analyses interview data gathered from 58 former and current tobacco farm residents of the Caradoc Sand Plain of Middlesex County to determine the nature and extent of tobacco agriculture restructuring during Stage 3, on an individual and aggregate farm basis. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).