Montréal still has some agricultural land, the last holdovers of farming on the Island . These farmlands give the western section of the Borough of Pierrefonds-Senneville and certain areas of the Borough of L'Île-Bizard-Sainte-Geneviève-Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue a rural character. The permanent agricultural zone decreed by the Québec government covers some 2,000 hectares, or 4% of the total area of Montréal. The Ville de Montréal intends to maintain this permanent agricultural zone within its current boundaries.

A substantial portion of the agricultural zone is occupied by Bois-de-la-Roche agricultural park, the Morgan Arboretum, the St. Lawrence Valley Ecomuseum, the experimental farm on McGill University 's MacDonald Campus, part of the L'Anse-à-l'Orme nature park, as well as golf courses. These sites represent an important centre of ecological, agricultural and recreational tourism.

Agricultural operations, however, remain marginal due to the farm community's lack of vitality: fields for rent, a lack of succession, lack of investment, etc. The City therefore plans to create an environment conducive to the development of farm activities and operations and favour organic agriculture while controlling non-agricultural uses in accordance with the policies of the Québec government concerning agricultural land and activities.

Implementation measures

• Maintain the current boundaries of the permanent agricultural zone within Montréal's territory as shown in Map 2.5.1.
• Plan the residential areas to be constructed that abut the City's permanent agricultural zone (see Map 1.1) in such a way that their uses do not come into conflict.
• Conduct a study of the agricultural zone within Montréal's territory to determine its character and potential.
• Improve the tourist appeal of agricultural areas, notably by creating conditions conducive to the discovery of rural scenery and supporting local initiatives to raise awareness of, enhance and interpret the agricultural heritage.
• Develop the Bois-de-la-Roche agricultural park.
• Prepare a strategic plan for improving agricultural activities in cooperation with the agricultural advisory committee, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal and the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec.