Canada: Alberta and Manitoba Grow 48.5% of Potatoes as Output Triples Since 1961
Canada's potato crop has more than tripled since 1961. The centre of production has moved west: in 2025 Alberta and Manitoba grew almost half of the crop, while Prince Edward Island fell to third.
Canada’s potato map has moved west. In 2025 Alberta produced 27.1% of the national crop and Manitoba 21.4%, according to Statistics Canada data from 5 December 2025 reported by Potato Insights. Prince Edward Island (PEI), long seen as Canada’s potato province, produced 17.3%. Its output fell 15.9% to 21.8 million hundredweight (cwt) after a dry season.
National production was 125.8 million cwt, 0.9% less than in 2024. This ended a run of four record crops in a row. Seeded area rose 1.1% to 395,857 acres, the highest level since 2007. The average yield fell 3.0% to 321.2 cwt per acre.
Area in the east, yield in the west
PEI still has the largest potato area. In July 2025 Statistics Canada counted 87,300 acres seeded in PEI, 80,000 acres in Alberta and 68,200 acres in Manitoba. But western yields are much higher. Alberta had the best yield in 2025 at 423.5 cwt per acre, up 2.8%, and Manitoba reached 381.8 cwt per acre. In PEI the yield fell 17.8%.
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The shift was already clear in 2024. Statistics Canada said Alberta produced 23.7% of the 127.0 million cwt crop, Manitoba 21.6% and PEI 20.4%. New Brunswick produced 17.0 million cwt and Quebec 13.7 million cwt.
Built for frozen exports
The western crop is closely linked to processing. The Manitoba government’s 2025 sector profile lists Simplot and McCain Foods in Portage la Prairie among the province’s processors. Manitoba’s potato exports were worth $875 million in 2024, and frozen potato products made up 93.3% of them. Nearly 90% of exports were frozen products shipped to the United States. Storage in Manitoba can hold up to 80% of a typical harvest.
The long view
FAOSTAT data, published by Our World in Data, show that Canada produced 2.01 million tonnes of potatoes in 1961 at 16.1 t/ha. In 1990 the crop was 3.00 million tonnes and in 2000 4.58 million tonnes. In 2024 FAOSTAT shows 6.51 million tonnes at 41.7 t/ha. Output grew about 3.2 times, and the area grew from about 125,000 ha to about 156,000 ha. Unlike Germany, France or Spain, Canada grows potatoes on more land than in 1961.
Why it matters
Canadian supply now depends on western farms that feed frozen fries plants. A dry year in the east, as in 2025, cuts PEI output but has a smaller effect on the national crop. Buyers of Canadian fries in the United States and other markets should watch Alberta and Manitoba first.
Photo: Potato harvest near Rolling Hills, Alberta, Canada (illustrative). StevejLeBlanc / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
