ISED invests $28 million in massive new poultry facility in Ontario

Speaking on behalf of ISED, Agriculture and Agri-Food minister Lawrence MacAulay announced $28 million to help Canadian packaged-meats producer Maple Leaf Foods build a new $744-million poultry facility in London, Ontario. The new facility will feature advanced technologies and create 1,340 full-time jobs by 2023. Maple Leaf has also committed $5 million to accelerate adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies and lower their environmental footprint by 50 percent. ISED’s investment in the new facility is part of the Innovation and Skills Plan from Budget 2017 and supports the Agri-Food Economic Strategy Table's ambition to increase capacity and boost productivity through innovation, market access, automation and digital adoption. Maple Leaf has promised to invest more in R&D and collaborate with post-secondary institutions to find uses for inedible byproducts that would otherwise end up in landfills.