The Master Gardener Program came to Canada when the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) reviewed ways to provide horticultural information to the public using volunteers.  In 1985 London was chosen as one of the first pilot programs of Ontario Master Gardeners.  After losing the OMAFRA funding in 1996, the Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc. formally became incorporated in 1998.  At that time there were 36 active groups with a membership of over 800 volunteers. Today the London Middlesex Master Gardener group is 24 people strong and serves Middlesex Country.