Protein Industries Canada receives CA$150 million in federal funding

The Canadian Minister responsible for Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, has announced a renewal of CA$150 million into Protein Industries Canada. The funding is part of the CA$750 million investment into the Global Innovation Cluster program announced as part of budget 2022.

“As a global agricultural powerhouse, Canada has the means, resources, and skill to turn crops into food – and transform the way the world eats, while also bringing solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, including global food security, the environment and human health,” CEO of Protein Industries Canada Bill Greuel said. “This renewed investment into Protein Industries Canada will support continued innovation, scale-up of companies and the commercialization of new products in Canada’s plant-based food, feed and ingredient sector, helping us reach the goal of a CA$25 billion industry by 2035.”

This renewed investment brings the total funding to Protein Industries Canada to CA$353 million from 2018 through to 2028, including CA$30 million through the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

“We appreciate the vision and support of the federal government to advance innovation and increase Canada’s productivity and competitiveness,” Greuel said. “With another five years of runway, we will be able to continue working with our members and the larger sector to establish the Canadian ecosystem, offering a Canadian-made solution to a global food challenge and contributing to Canada’s economy.”

In the first tranche of funding from 2018 to 2023, Protein Industries Canada co-invested CA$173 million into 55 projects. The initial investment leveraged CA$304 million in private investment, created 303 IP assets, helped companies leverage a further CA$234 million in follow-on investment, and is expected to contribute CA$15 billion in GDP and create 10,800 direct and indirect jobs by 2031 – meeting or surpassing every target set out by the program.

Information on the next round of Protein Industries Canada programming, including how and when project expressions of interests will be accepted, will be announced in the coming weeks.