A lack of seed stocks for native Canadian plant species has become a critical roadblock for naturalization projects.
Without a domestic source, those projects are dependent on less-suitable seed imported from the United States.
A relatively new organization, Native Seed Producers of Canada, is trying to solve the problem by making both the business and environmental case to policymakers for the establishment of a national native seed strategy.
Nature restoration projects in Canada often rely on imported native species. A national strategy for Canadian native seed production could remedy the imbalances, and help preserve the genetic diversity of Canada’s native flora.
The problem
Native seed production exists on a very small scale in Canada compared to typical commodity crops, and expansion faces many headwinds, according to professionals in the sector speaking at the first Canadian Native Seed Summit, hosted by Native Seed Producers of Canada in March.
Being a large and geographically diverse country, there are a multitude of species which could be scaled. Some take a very long time to produce seed – slow-growing hardwood trees, for example – while agronomic, technical, and logistical challenges for harvesting, cleaning and storing seed are many. There are also price fluctuations for the end product, as well as more culture-related barriers for some demographics. Native seed collection has long been part of many Indigenous communities’ heritage, for example, whereas in European communities, it has not.
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Verifiable genetics is another major barrier. While countries such as Germany have an in-depth certification process for native seed genetics that help purchasers know they are investing in high-quality and locally-suitable seed stock, Canada has no such certification. Many additional challenges — including the role environmental legislation has in driving nature restoration targets, and technical issues with seed establishment in the field — were also discussed.
Global analysis
The inaugural purpose of the summit — an event which will run annually to cover developments in the native seed sector — was to begin driving connections between those working with native seed for production, use, and policy.
Renny Grilz, a Saskatchewan native seed farmer and one of the founders Native Seed Producers of Canada, said such connections are sorely needed in a sector which, though small, is nonetheless highly fragmented, and even quite secretive. Indeed, reluctance to divulge agronomic or business information on the part of native producers was a common theme observed throughout Grilz’s Nuffield Scholarship travels, where he investigated issues and solutions for the native seed industry across Europe and North America.
Renny Grilz, of Saskatchewan’s Blazing Start Wildflower Seed Company, says a national strategy is needed to grow the sector.
Photo:
Submitted
“We’re all small producers, and it’s such a limited market for the knowledge of the science, whether it’s growing, collecting, seed storage — that’s where the secrecy comes from,” said Grilz, speaking on March 16. He added Canada does have an advantage, however, in that greater production scale and a reasonably large market for native seed helps generate more openness domestically.
As of 2025, the number of native plant producers across Canada can be measured in the dozens, but Grilz and others working within the native seed sector are confident there is opportunity to grow producer numbers if the market can be measured.
Some opportunities are clear, including the opportunity to bring much of the native seed market share to Canada from south of the border. However, no overarching data indicating the true size of the Canadian market for native plant material exists.
“There has never been a full market study on what the potential market is. There’s not even agriculture census data. Without knowing what the demand is, how could we scale up?” Grilz said, reiterating another purpose of the annual native seed summit is attracting attention from policymakers.
“There’s a need to bring people together and build those connections, build those networks.… We need to get the buy-in of the federal government at multiple different levels, for a national strategy with regional expertise and genetics.”
Lisa and Renny Grilz, owners of Blazing Star Wildflower Seed Company.
Photo:
Submitted
Building blocks
Expanding on what a national strategy would need to be effective, Grilz’s presented five necessary pillars to attendees of the native seed summit:
Producers at the centre: supported by training, infrastructure, foundation seed and long-term procurement contracts.
Seed banks as active partners: conserving genetic diversity while supplying foundation seed and rare species to growers.
Policy and procurement frameworks: embedding native seed use into regulations, standards and restoration targets.
Diversified markets: expanding beyond restoration to include regenerative agriculture, pollinator habitat, Indigenous stewardship and urban greening.
National co-ordination: building strong producer networks, regional hubs and cross-sector collaboration.
The bottom line for Grilz, is Canada will remain dependent on imported, non-local, and less environmentally-suitable seed stocks without coordinated investment and a national native seed policy.