Launched in 2023, the ALUS Laurentides program is a partnership between ALUS and the Fédération de l’UPA de Outaouais-Laurentides (FUPAOL).

The program ALUS Laurentides includes Montreal and Laval covering a territory of 23 000 square kilometers on the traditional territory of the Algonquin and Iroquois First Nations. This territory includes close to 200,000 ha of farmland (10% of the region). 

In 2022, the Laurentians and the Montreal / Laval area, represented 36,1% of Quebec’s population and 38% of its jobs, and were home to more than 1,300 farms. Dairy and market-garden producers are the mainstays of the region, but there are also horticultural, cereal, poultry and egg producers.

The region is bordered by the Saint Lawrence River in the South that is one of the largest river systems in the world and drains more than 25% of the world’s freshwater.  The region is bordered by Outaouais to the west and Lanaudière to the east. It is renowned for the Laurentian mountains and is a popular tourist destination year-around. Agritourism activity is on the rise in the area due to the proximity to the Montreal metropolitan region and strong regional demographic growth. 

ALUS Laurentides’ goal is to support local objectives and targets concerning the development of the agricultural sector and the preservation of the environment. Particularly, water management and species at risk preservation in a per-urban context.

The program focus areas are;

• Un-grazed or uncut reserves for monarchs, pollinators and birds such as; the bobolink, eastern meadowlark and grasshopper sparrow.

• Riparian areas and windbreak projects providing habitats for pollinators, the Blanding’s turtle, barn swallow and red-headed woodpecker. 

ALUS Laurentides manages these projects under its legal entity FUPAOL, which is committed to the implementation of the ALUS program. The Federation is an agricultural trade union, which bases its raison d’être and its actions on values of respect for the individual, solidarity, collective action, social justice, equity and democracy. Its mission is to promote, defend and develop the professional, economic, social and moral interests of its members.