Group 9

History

In 2085, Toronto experienced the impacts of a severe hyperinflation crisis driven by several interlinked variables. Key contributors of the hyperinflation pressure include prolonged trade wars, tariff divisions with the United States, climate change, the 2070 water crisis and the escalating problems of food shortages. The obstacles have exacerbated over the past 50+ years, greatly altering Toronto’s economic resilience.

Frightened by Toronto’s rising costs, many residents have turned to farming and various forms of urban agriculture. Rooftop gardens, greenhouses and other innovative strategies of producing crops have become common, permitting individuals to harvest their own food and save on groceries. Moreover, local farm-based markets have become popular, serving as hubs for profit and sustenance to the greater city population. Amidst these economic hardships within cities, farmers have become financially prosperous, as agricultural demands remain booming in an otherwise turbulent time.

In response to these pressures, education systems now emphasize financial literacy as a critical component of curriculum expectations in grades K-12, thus ensuring that students are equipped to navigate food shortages by growing their own food. Specialized streams in university and colleges further prepare younger generations to address the ongoing rises of inflation. Those that are not specifically focused on agricultural literacy or farming programs, include discussions and workshops on gardening, planting, field and farm education, harvesting and growing crops throughout the program or credit requirements.

Below we outline the impacts of hyperinflation across different fields, in more detail:

Economy

In analyzing the price increases from early 2020s to 2085, Canada’s inflation rate depicts a gradual, yet substantial increase in the cost of living, specifically the food sector, resulting from a combination of environmental, diplomatic and fiscal variables. Between mid 2020s to early 2030s, economic disruption was predominantly driven by mounting global tensions, and the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2040s - 2080s, however, are the leading cause of the heightened inflation rates, demonstrating a steady concern with commodity shortages escalated by an ongoing environmental crisis.

Of particular concern is Toronto’s inflationary pressure, where the price of basic units like grapes has reached $31.60 per unit at the end of 2084. As a major metropolitan center, Toronto experiences inflation at a significantly higher rate in comparison to rural regions, the Prairies and Maritime provinces, largely due to its population density, supply relations, dependance on imports, elevated housing prices, and high demands.

Like other industries, Toronto’s schools were not immune to the inflation rates that re-shaped Canada’s economic landscape. With the passing of the Agricultural Act on May 14th, 2085, the Ministry of Education pushed the integration of agricultural literacy across grade levels, from Kindergarten to Grade 12, and an increased number of agricultural specialization streams within college and university programs. These curricular alterations incurred considerable financial investments, affecting both education and the wider economy.

A breakdown of educational and economic implications in the last 50+ years is provided below:

2030 - 2039: Initial Economic Strain

The 2030s represented a precursor to the greater issues that followed. By 2036, tariffs and trade restrictions began to narrow between food-exporting partners, like the United States. The decline in food supply pushed a dependency on agricultural production which failed to meet public demands, due to increasing environmental stresses. In education, food cafeteria meals and school-provided meal plans begin to increase in price. By 2039, the growing demand for grocery supply in stores, amid global tensions, began to push inflation above the 2% threshold, highlighting the start of prolonged economic difficulty.

2040 - 2049: Effects of Climate Change

In the 2040s, Canada saw its agricultural sector suffering from greater impacts in environmental stresses and climate change. With prolonged periods of droughts in regions of Southern Ontario, wildfires destroying crops and farmland in the regions of Alberta, and flooding disrupting harvests in the Prairies, shifted Toronto’s inflation in the food sector above the 3% threshold. In schools, meal prices spike even further and portion sizes are reduced to introduce cost-cutting measures. Schools are also forced to cut down on nutritional quality and variety of foods.

2050 - 2059: Greater Effects of Climate Change

The 2050s were a time of accelerating ecological decline. With the impacts of climate change, key agricultural regions like the American Midwest began to observe a noticeable shortage in crops. This scarcity of food, combined with the ongoing 2030s tariff barriers and tensions between Canada’s trading allies, caused a consistent spike in inflation throughout the decade. In particular, in 2053, American farmers saw erratic weather patterns with co-occurring episodes of extreme drought and hot temperatures. With agricultural production declining 17% that year, tariffs on harvest goods — grains, fruits and vegetables — resulted in a 5% inflation in Toronto markets. By 2057, North American trade partners continued facing inconsistency in weather patterns, with rising temperatures and shifts in precipitation. Many crops experienced both floods and dry periods, intensifying soil erosion, water stress and deteriorating the soil’s structural condition, salinity, acidity or alkalinity. By the end of the 2050s, very few food products were still being imported and traded into Canada, causing a 6.2% inflation in Toronto, and further geopolitical tensions compounding the economic strain. By 2059, the Canadian government had begun implementing subsidies and initiatives for local agricultural projects, in an attempt to create community-driven resources and combat supply chain difficulties. In schools, cafeteria and meal-plan prices skyrocket. Government intervention sends out subsidies to low-income families, to support students who cannot afford food costs. In Southern Ontario, Toronto schools also turn to community partnerships and local businesses for food donations and agricultural associations.

2060 - 2069: Trade Wars

In 2062, as Canada and the USA vied for dominance over scarce agronomical supplies, food costs spiked across both countries. Canada felt the widespread impacts of dry weather and increased drought periods in southern Ontario and the Prairie provinces, reducing corn and soybean yields by 23% between 2062-2065. As both nations disrupted trading and interrupted export/import relations, Canada faced retaliatory tariffs from the USA, on exports like canola oil, wheat, potatoes, and grain alcohols. These aggressive agro-political tensions became what was later called the “North American Trade Wars,” eventually rupturing the trading relationship between the two nations entirely in 2068. In schools, cafeteria and meal-plan prices continue to grow.

2070 - 2079: Water Crisis

Having discontinued its trading relations with the United States, Canada was now strictly dependent on its own agricultural yields. The 2070s, however, saw large impacts of water scarcity due to elevated temperatures and continued periods of drought in southern Ontario and the Prairies. Irrigation-dependent farming had become unsustainable, and water management ministries across Canada mismanaged the ecological crisis through poorly executed water allocation regulations. In Ontario, the MECP over-extracted 40% more water from key rivers and aquifers in 2074, in comparison to the sub 40% guidelines enforced at the beginning of the trade tensions in early 2030s. Moreover, inadequate financing of infrastructure and extraction equipment, specifically older models of reservoirs that proved difficult to adapt to shifting rainfall patterns and heightened water needs, further aggravated these problems. The crisis spiked increases in food costs, particularly grains, fruits and vegetables, meat and dairy products, which are all reliant on consistent water supply for growth. Toronto inflation rates rise 35% from 2070 to late 2079.

With the discontinued trading relationships with the United States and the instability in economic conditions, Toronto’s Ministry of Education discontinues assisted meal-plan programs in schools. Cafeteria food becomes a privilege for the wealthier classes, further exacerbating disparities in access to food, and fueling inequalities in student provisions of essential resources. Additionally, curriculum would be modified to include a higher account of prioritization versus sustainability and water conservation techniques, particularly during science classes in P/J and J/I sectors, general science in grades 9 & 10, as well as biology, chemistry and environmental studies in grades 11 and 12.

2080 - 2085 Hyperinflation

By 2080, the economic crisis in Canada was severe. Ongoing environmental troubles made growing crops challenging, as erratic co-existing periods of dry temperatures met intense cycles of rain. Trade disruptions continued to cause heightened shortages in food supply. The rising costs of food production and harvesting needs for an increased domestic demand, fueled hyperinflation, particularly in urban areas like Toronto. In 2085, food reached unprecedented costs, and with its rise, the city’s reorientation of urban living. Many Toronto residents shifted to increasingly self-sufficient means of living, such as urban farming, rooftop gardening and partaking in local agricultural programs.

In response to the severe rates of inflation, the Canadian government passed the Agricultural Act on May 14th, 2085, as a means to educate children on the increasingly scarce accessibility to food. Recognizing the need for long-term solutions that required future generations to be equipped with skills and information necessary to address and correct food shortages, the Canadian education system was re-programmed to integrate sustainable agricultural techniques across all practices.

Here are some examples of implemented curriculum changes:

English: Students read agricultural-themed novels and poems. Environmental criticism is a primary form of analysis used to annotate and understand texts. Students write essays on topics like sustainability, and discuss real-world problems like food security, shortages and environmental damage.

Chemistry: Students explore the pH of soil formation, fertilizers, and pest-killing solutions (pesticides, insecticides etc.). Titration labs can be applied to explore soil acidity and irrigation practices.

Physical Education: Students discuss the impact of nutrition, food scarcity, water shortage and accessibility to food in a world where inflation rates determine one’s dietary routines. Lessons would highlight the necessity of a nutrient-dense diet and daily hydration, while also informing students of strategies to maintain energy amidst environmental and financial challenges. Physical health and fitness components would involve hands-on activities like gardening, yet also frequent volunteering trips to local farms, and food plants, where students will provide their services to help plant, reap, pick, thresh, haul, cut, or water local crops.

Math: Students use data analysis to calculate and predict crop yields, estimate increase in production, calculate feed rations for livestock, study trends in food inflation, and use geometry to plan farming layouts or irrigation surfaces.

In implementing agricultural literacy into the curriculum, the development of new textbooks, digital resources and materials was necessary to equip classrooms with the right tools to approach these changes. Additionally, teacher training programs were enforced to guarantee educators were prepared to teach various agricultural topics. Schools across Toronto were also retrofitted with rooms and facilities that sustain kinesthetic agronomic learning, specifically greenhouses, garden spaces, climate adaptation simulation labs, and agricultural tech machinery. Wealthier schools who could afford the inflated costs of the water crisis, also implemented hydroponic laboratories to teach students how to grow plants using water-based solutions.

Table #1: Calculated as a 12-month percentage change between January of one year to the next using not seasonally adjusted the Consumer Price Index data from Statistics Canada

Inflation Table (2030-2085)

Table #1 illustrates the rate of inflation in Canada over the last 50+ years, detailing major economic declines and inflation rates from 2030 - 2085. Individual reflections of all-item inflation and specific inflationary rates within the food sector are provided. The inflation rate is calculated as a twelve-month percentile change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Environment

In 2085, the city of Toronto continued to grow into the most densely populated area of Ontario. The government has fully developed the city and phased out the local green spaces to make room for the abundance of people living in Toronto. Downtown highrises are now topped with greenspaces that house the personal gardens of city residents. After a typical workday, cars congest the main streets and civilians are crammed into subway cars. Outside the downtown Toronto area, green spaces have been preserved and rural communities have begun to thrive. There has been a rise in local farmers markets which have become the essential source for food for rural communities. Residential areas out of the city have also become spread out in clusters that revolve around the small town centers and schools. Smaller neighbourhoods have integrated farming into their backyards and communities have emphasized the value of parks and open fields. Farms are flourishing because of the positive support from the surrounding rural towns. Ontario’s climate within the past 40 years has been trending towards warmer temperatures and harsher conditions which make farming patterns more unpredictable than in the past. Summer weather has gotten warmer and the season continues on until early October. Spring and Autumn seasons have seen a rise in precipitation which has benefited farmers but flooding poses a challenge for farmers as it leads to soil erosion and run-off. Winters are shorter and warmer, which has been challenging for animals as it has affected their reproduction, hibernation, and migration periods. It has also affected the crops grown in Ontario as wheat becomes vulnerable in hot weather and fruit trees are affected by the late frosts (TO CITE).

Education

Brief Overview

The education system evolved to accommodate changes in the environment. The Agriculture Act, passed in 2085, resulted in curricular and pedagogical shifts. Specifically, towards a focus in agriculture. Varying disciplines provide additional content, teaching children the basics of farming. Biology classes honed their ecology units, with a special emphasis on the care of plants. Students studied soil health and pH levels in chemistry, ensuring the perfect conditions for crop growth. Additional units were been implemented into the curriculum to educate children on farming. The youngest grades learned about the types of plants (different seeds, the kinds of fruits and vegetables that are grown, etc.), middle schoolers were educated on the farming process (fundamentals and how one goes about farming), while secondary students honed these lessons. Techniques were studied, as well as seasonal impacts (effects of colder weather, how to combat it, and how to deal with natural disasters like flooding and heat waves). High schools expanded their Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) programs, with the vast majority of schools outside of Toronto including an agriculture SHSM. This program focuses on biology, farming, ecology, and agronomy. Guest speakers regularly visit schools, middle school and up, discussing their personal farming techniques and detailing the growth and harvest of specific crops. Parents in these communities were in favour of these changes, as farming became increasingly prominent in combatting corporate-driven inflation of food prices. There were further pushes for farming-focused curriculum and many parents considered home-schooling in conjunction with working the farm. The goal was to give young children a chance to experience this lifestyle, and the trade, earlier in life, with focuses on hands-on and play-based learning.

Early Childhood Education

Rural and suburban children of the late 21st Century enjoyed the luxury of outdoor classrooms, and lessons, more so than that of city children. Moves were made throughout the Greater Toronto Area to incorporate agriculture into science, geography, and social sciences. These shifts, however, were not initially incorporated into the curriculum. Teachers took it upon themselves to educate children on the move towards self-harvesting. As a result, some textbooks became obsolete, certain teachers opting to revamp their whole pedagogies. Opportunities for hands-on learning varied from teacher to teacher, some schools having space for their very own small-scale crops, while others managed visits to nearby farms. Students became fully immersed in the agricultural environment, bridging traditional scientific teachings with ones relevant to the times.

Example #2 : Worksheet for Gr. 9-10 English

City children, unfortunately, were not afforded this kind of education up until the 22nd century. Toronto itself was limited in terms of agricultural and farming opportunities. Children, therefore, experienced limited education in these realms as well. Unable to obtain the hands-on experience of the suburban and rural child, families began moving to larger plots of land, attempting to provide their children homegrown goods, and homeschool education of such disciplines.

The use of technology, which was at the forefront of 21st Century education, began to dwindle. Artificial Intelligence (AI) was once thought to be the future of education. Some hypothesized that schooling would shift entirely, solely using AI. Yet, the rising food costs, and the decisions of those in rural areas to take supporting their community (and communities nearby) into their own hands, resulted in the nullification of this hypothesis. AI was once again a mere tool, not a threat, whereby one could identify seeds and saplings, soil PH levels, and accurately inform farmers on weather patterns. Students began using AI at a young age, to aid their farming. The result was flourishing crops year-round, through a better understanding of climate, geography, and the crops themselves.

Currently, moves are being made to widen the accessibility of homegrown goods and ensure children are educated on new job opportunities within agriculture, agronomy, and horticulture.

Example #1 : Worksheet for Gr. 11 math

University

In 2085, universities in Toronto remained largely familiar, with lecture halls, research labs, and student centers, but subtle shifts reflect the times. With the Agricultural Act prioritizing food education, science courses now integrate agronomy and urban farming into their curriculums. Botany labs include hands-on lessons in hydroponics, while chemistry classes analyze soil composition. Rooftop gardens are standard features, blending practicality with sustainability.

Although traditional degree programs like engineering, medicine, and business remain popular, there’s a growing emphasis on fields connected to agriculture and self-reliance. Environmental science courses increasingly explore sustainable farming methods, while economics programs analyze the impacts of food inflation and monopolization. Even humanities departments engage with the Agricultural Movement, offering courses on the cultural and historical impacts of food scarcity.

Despite these changes, the university environment feels familiar. Students still gather in libraries, and have to write exams. But they’re also increasingly aware of how their education connects to broader societal challenges. Food-related student initiatives, like campus farmers’ markets and co-op gardening projects, have become as common as intramural sports or debate clubs. As a result of this increased exposure to farming, more students are interested in exploring farming as a career after university.

Financially, universities prioritize funding for agricultural research and sustainability projects, but this focus hasn’t upended the balance of education. Programs unrelated to agriculture continue to thrive, and career aspirations remain mostly diverse. The difference is a heightened awareness among students: learning how to grow food isn’t just a niche interest—it’s a useful life skill.

For most, these changes feel practical rather than revolutionary. Growing a plant in a science class or volunteering in the campus garden may not seem transformative, but in a world where grocery prices are so extreme, these small shifts ensure that the next generation is better equipped to navigate an uncertain future.

The Agricultural Movement of 2085 Anthology

The References

Timothy "Timmy" Smith

Elena Smith

Scotty MacDonald

Johnny Salvo

Ricardo Álvarez