Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just announced additional support for the plant-based food industry in Canada. The company Merit Functional Foods will see an investment of almost $100-million in their Winnipeg facility.
“As people around the world start eating more plant-based food products, we have an opportunity to bring together innovation in Canada and Canadian crops, and a chance to create good, well-paying jobs,” Justin Trudeau said. “Today, I can announce that our government is contributing almost $100-million for the new Merit Functional Foods location in Winnipeg. This facility will be a world leader in plant-based proteins and will create good jobs in a fast-growing field. And by using 100 percent Canadian inputs, we will also support the farmers who produce canola and yellow peas used in Merit’s products. Standing up for hard-working farmers, creating good jobs, setting up Canada for success on the world stage — these are things that our government will always get behind.”
In terms of funding, the government will provide:
- A $10M repayable contribution from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriInnovate Program;
- $25M in debt financing from Farm Credit Canada;
- $55M in debt financing from Export Development Canada (EDC); and
- $9.2M from the Protein Industries Canada supercluster.
“This project is yet another great example of how collaboration is helping Canada further solidify its reputation as a global leader in plant proteins,” said Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Navdeep Bains. “Our co-investment with the Protein Industries supercluster has helped Merit commercialize a new processing technology that will give Canadians and export markets better-tasting plant-based protein alternatives.”
The Protein Industries Canada supercluster is an industry-led nonprofit that was created with government and private support to position Canada as a global leader in the plant protein industry. According to its website, this global market is expected to reach $14.8B by 2023 and human consumption of this type of protein is projected to nearly double in the next five years.
