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Preamble:
WHEREAS the Government of Alberta (GOA) appears to recognize the value of agritourism as demonstrated in recent press releases; and
WHEREAS Travel Alberta’s goal is to double Alberta’s tourism economy by 2035 ($12.74B to $25B) including through development of new and expanded agritourism experiences; and
WHEREAS the “2024 Destination Canada’s Global Traveler Research Program Survey” estimated 2.9 million overseas travelers and 2.5 million US travelers are interested in experiencing rural Alberta over the next two years; and
WHEREAS agritourism has the potential to address the growing consumer demand of tourists and has a positive impact on the agriculture industry and both local and provincewide economic development; and
WHEREAS Alberta Farm Fresh Producers surveyed its membership and more than 40% of respondents indicated that selling value-added products and providing on-farm experiences could diversify farm income and raise awareness about agriculture among urban residents; and
WHEREAS to support responsible agritourism, producers require liability protection through adequate insurance coverage that extends standard farm liability insurance to cover the unique risks associated with welcoming visitors onto a working farm; and
WHEREAS agritourism insurance is either not available, very restrictive or available only through elevated premiums that are cost prohibitive, resulting in severely limiting the growth of agritourism in Alberta; and
WHEREAS Ontario has implemented the Growing Agritourism Act, which provides liability protection for agritourism operators by creating a safer environment for both agritourism operators and visitors through risk awareness;
Operative Clause:
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) request the Government of Alberta to review Ontario’s Growing Agritourism Act and assess its relevance to addressing challenges faced by Alberta’s agritourism sector in accessing adequate liability insurance;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that RMA support the GOA in developing an action plan to address barriers in accessing adequate liability insurance for agritourism activities.
Member Background:
Although definitions of “agritourism” vary, it generally involves opening farm gates to visitors by turning access to agricultural products, services or experiences into tourism products, all while creating supplemental income for producers and celebrating Alberta’s agricultural heritage.
Increased agritourism has the potential to contribute to the local and provincial economy and contribute to solving other long-standing rural challenges such as but not limited to the following:
Farmers, however, are finding it difficult to obtain appropriate liability insurance for visitors on their farm – whether it is a class of students, or visitors from urban centers or from abroad:
In 2024, the Government of Ontario approved Bill 186, Growing Agritourism Act which:
RMA Resolution 8-23S: Provincial Review of Agribusiness & Agritourism (passed February 2023) remains active with a status of Intent Not Met. RMA has recently initiated the formation of an Agritourism Working Group with the following mandate:
“Agritourism Strategy Working Group is established to guide the development of a comprehensive provincial strategy that supports the responsible growth, promotion, and regulation of agritourism in Alberta. The Working Group will facilitate collaboration between municipal and provincial stakeholders and identify opportunities to align policy, streamline regulatory frameworks and enhance economic outcomes. This Working Group will assess current challenges and opportunities, recommend strategic actions, and encourage the promotion of agritourism in the province.”
Agritourism Strategy Working group currently focuses on financial and regulatory hurdles; however, it does not address a very important operational need of access to liability insurance.
Furthermore, the Government of Alberta continues to promote agritourism as demonstrated by quotes such as;
“By supporting agricultural-based businesses and operators, we are helping showcase Alberta’s small businesses and farms to the world, while boosting the local economy and creating jobs across the province.” Andrew Boitchenko, Minister of Tourism & Sport (Oct, 2025).
“Alberta’s farmers and ranchers are some of the best ambassadors for our province. By opening their gates and sharing their stories, they’re helping more people experience the passion, hard work, and pride that define Alberta agriculture. Agri-tourism not only strengthens rural economies, it deepens the connection between consumers and the people who produce their food.” RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture & Irrigation (Oct, 2025).
Support for this resolution helps ensure agricultural producers have access to adequate liability insurance to responsibly participate in agritourism activities, especially considering the scope of the Agritourism Strategy Working Group. It is important for the Government of Alberta and relevant stakeholders to enable farmers to accept visitors safely and without additional liability.
RMA Background:
8-23S: Provincial Review of Agribusiness and Agritourism
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta request the Government of Alberta to undertake a joint provincial/municipal review of agribusiness and agritourism operations that includes considerations related to sector promotion and incentivization, municipal/provincial regulatory alignments, potential transitional building code or taxation options for operators, and other matters to help clarify and align the responsible growth of these value-added sectors in Alberta.
Click here to view the full resolution.
Alberta Treasury Board and Finance
Thank you for your recent letter regarding Resolution 9-26S: Access to Liability Insurance for Agritourism Operators. I appreciate the Rural Municipalities of Alberta’s efforts to support rural communities and to highlight challenges facing agritourism operators in Alberta.
I understand the concerns raised in your resolution regarding the cost, terms, and suitability of liability insurance for agritourism activities. As your resolution notes, agritourism can provide important economic opportunities for producers, support rural diversification, and help connect visitors with Alberta’s agricultural sector.
In Alberta, insurance for farm and commercial activities is provided through a competitive and free market. Insurers assess risks and set coverage terms and premiums independently. Since agritourism activities involve risks that differ from standard farming operations, suitable coverage may come with different terms, conditions, and costs.
Alberta is aware that Ontario has introduced legislation to strengthen liability protections for agritourism operators and visitors, and I understand that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta’s Agritourism Working Group will be looking at this as a potential recommendation. Any similar approach needs to be carefully reviewed to ensure it fits Alberta’s insurance market and regulatory framework. If there are any questions specific to insurance, my team would be happy to discuss them with the working group.
Alternatively, Alberta already has a regulatory framework enabling reciprocal insurance exchanges (reciprocals) and captive insurance companies (captives). Reciprocals and captives provide insurance coverage for the entities that create them and provide an effective alternative to traditional insurance markets in some circumstances. Agritourism operators and sector associations may wish to explore whether a captive or reciprocal insurance model could help address sector-specific risks.
Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation
AGI works collaboratively with other provincial ministries and sector partners, including Treasury Board and Finance, Tourism and Sport and the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies on matters related to agritourism policy, promotion and sector development. While AGI provides agriculture-sector context and operational insight, insurance regulation and product availability fall outside AGI’s mandate and are influenced by market-based and regulatory considerations led by Treasury Board and Finance. Tourism policy development is led by Tourism and Sport.
Development:
RMA sent Resolution 9-26S to the ministries of Treasury Board and Finance, Agriculture and Irrigation, and Tourism and Sport.
Resolution 9-26S highlights that agritourism operators face significant barriers when purchasing commercial liability insurance. While RMA recognizes that liability insurance is provided through the free market, barriers to access severely limit agritourism operators’ ability to contribute to Alberta’s economy.
Insurance solutions such as reciprocals and captives can be helpful levers, but do not address the primary challenge identified in this resolution: when agritourism operators purchase commercial insurance for their agritourism businesses, their existing policies such as farm, home, and vehicle insurance are often cancelled or subject to significantly increased premiums. RMA has struck a working group that will develop recommendations for an agritourism strategy in Alberta, which may suggest approaches the Government Alberta can take to support agritourism operators to access affordable and adequate commercial operations insurance. The working group is composed of RMA members, Alberta Tourism and Sport, Agritourism Alberta, and Economic Developers Alberta. Members of the working group heard presentations from delegates covering a variety of topics, including options for liability insurance and legislative interventions from Ontario that assist agritourism operators in accessing liability insurance.
RMA will continue to explore options for liability insurance for agritourism operators in Alberta by working with relevant Government of Alberta ministries to review Ontario’s Growing Agritourism Act. Through the work of the Agritourism Strategy Working Group, there may be opportunities to explore the creation of an action plan to liability insurance barriers. However, as there have been no official commitments made from the province to address the challenges faced by Alberta’s agritourism sector in accessing adequate liability insurance, this resolution is assigned the status of Intent Not Met
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