2024–25 Accomplishments
The 2024–25 fiscal year marked Protein Industries Canada’s sixth year of operations and its second year since being renewed in February 2023.
The plant-based food and ingredients sector has experienced both growth and growing pains typical of emerging industries. While the COVID-19 pandemic drove consumer interest and investment, the post-pandemic realities—tightened capital, rising costs, and slower consumer adoption—have made it harder for companies to scale.
In response, Protein Industries Canada focused on building awareness and support through outreach to investors, domestic leaders, and international markets, such as Singapore, while continuing to deliver on its core mandate of innovation and ecosystem development.
Significant accomplishments of 2024-25 included:
-
$89.1M
committed to Canadian food, feed and ingredients through Protein Industries Canada projects
-
2 Canada-UK projects
announced through Technology Leadership in collaboration with Innovate UK
-
Attended events in USA, UK & Singapore
building key relationships with our international partners
-
Plant Forward, the second edition
hosted in collaboration with Pulse Canada and Plant-Based Foods of Canada
-
180
in-person attendees at two-day AGM & Conference in Saskatoon
-
The Road to $25 Billion
awareness building continued with thought leaders & decision-makers, and introduced Next Steps documents to drive action.
-
Patent landscape analysis
undertook to identify whitespace opportunities
-
Launched podcast
titled Canada's Agrifood Opportunity
The core work of Protein Industries Canada revolved around five main themes:
Global Leadership
Skip to section
Ecosystem Evolution
Skip to section
Member Prosperity
Skip to section
Organizational Relevance
Skip to section
One Team
Skip to section
Global Leadership
Canada is a partner of choice to secure the global food supply chain
OBJECTIVE
Canada’s value proposition for ingredient manufacturing is competitive and drives foreign investment
ACTION
- Undertake a jurisdictional review of Canada’s business competitiveness in value-added agriculture
RESULTS
- Worked with industry partners, such as FCC, to better understand Canada’s competitiveness and the potential of value-added agriculture to improve Canada’s productivity through value-added agriculture.
- Developed a policy paper to advance The Road to $25 Billion that outlined Canada’s strengths and opportunities, and the necessary investments to create a $25-billion a year industry for Canada.
Canada’s Current Economic Reality—Challenges and Opportunities
ACTION
- Develop a recommended suite of incentives to increase foreign investment
RESULTS
- Worked with EY to do a review of existing tax credits to understand the current landscape and recommend potential changes to better serve the value-added agriculture sector.
- Included recommendations to expand the scope of Clean-Tax manufacturing credit, and the need for refundable tax credits as part of the access to capital strategy and The Road to $25 Billion.
ACTION
- Develop and execute an action plan to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) from priority companies
RESULTS
- Protein Industries Canada (PIC) has developed a list of potential FDI leads from markets including the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Singapore, the USA and Japan.
- PIC, through the Invest In Canada FDI working group, is co-developing specific approaches to multinational enterprise (MNE) leads. Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) are also very active in the collaboration.
- Business Development (BD) has developed a list of targets/leads for FDI and is developing a system within Salesforce to manage and track engagement with FDI targets.
- The FDI working group has created a draft FDI value proposition package.
- The ongoing International Engagement Strategy (IES) includes FDI as a potential outcome and develops activities accordingly, such as:
- PIC facilitated pre-programming at Plant Forward 2024 to showcase the Canadian value proposition and the plant-based sector
- PIC sponsored a panel at Agri-Food Tech Expo Asia (AFTEA) with PIC CEO, IPAAO, Nurasa
- Participated in an FDI-focused event at the Canada-in-Asia Conference in Singapore
Canada in Singapore: developments, learnings and insights from AFTEA 2024
ACTION
- Execute on the 2024 edition of Plant Forward
RESULTS
- The second edition of Plant Forward was held in April 2024 in Toronto, with 197 attendees, including 32 international delegates.
ACTION
- Support incoming trade and innovation missions
RESULTS
- Protein Industries Canada supported the following inbound missions/delegates for Plant Forward 2024:
- UAE, UK, Japan – 12 delegates total
- Organized site tours and follow-up introductions to PIC members
- Pre-mission webinar support and aftercare
View photos from Plant Forward 2024
OBJECTIVE
Members commercialize and export Canadian ingredients, products and services
ACTION
- Share our knowledge with members about key international markets to support members’ export readiness
RESULTS
- Protein Industries Canada works collaboratively with GAC and the Trade Commission Service (TCS) to gather up-to-date market intel and opportunities and shares this information with members through the Director of Business Development.
- A new webpage to support international partner development was launched.
Choosing Canada as a strategic partner
ACTION
- Conduct a jurisdictional scan of key markets to better understand opportunities and challenges in exporting to them
RESULTS
- Currently reviewing a proposal to analyze key Indo-Pacific markets/MNEs and benchmark against EU market activities.
ACTION
- Complete an IP landscape for plant-based food and ingredient manufacturing in key global markets
RESULTS
- A patent landscape analysis was completed and released in September 2024 and is currently available on the Member Portal.
- Developed a series of articles and outreach to support awareness about the current IP landscape and opportunities, such as The time to get patent smart in agrifood is now
The time to get patent smart in agrifood is now
ACTION
- Facilitate meaningful collaboration between Canadian ingredient manufacturers and international food processors
RESULTS
- Developed a Capacity Building project to support the adoption and utilization of Canadian ingredients by R&D agencies, with announcement and kick-off happening in 2025-26 fiscal year.
ACTION
- Facilitate the commercialization of Canadian food, feed and bioproducts in international markets
RESULTS
- PIC participated in several panel discussions at key domestic and international events to showcase the offerings of the Canadian plant-based ecosystem.
- PIC has attended tradeshows and related events to identify offtake leads for our members and the plant-based food, feed and ingredient companies:
- Germany – Hannover Messe
- Chicago – Future Food-Tech
- Singapore – Canada-in-Asia Conference
- Supported the increased awareness of Canadian ingredients through the Federal family of agencies as they are participating in domestic and international events.
OBJECTIVE
Domestic innovation is strengthened by international collaboration
ACTION
- Execute on the Innovate UK partnership agreement
RESULTS
- Opened a joint call for projects with Innovate UK, hosted a UK delegation at Plant Forward, and supported the development of four joint research projects between Canadian and UK companies.
- Two joint R&D projects have been announced from this partnership.
ACTION
- Support members in international research and development collaborations
RESULTS
- Entered dialogue with Nurasa, Singapore’s food tech innovation organization, to formalize an R&D agreement between the two countries—creating a pathway for Canadian companies to the Indo-Pacific market.
- Confirmed interest from additional Singaporean R&D agencies to increase the utilization of Canadian ingredients in their formulation work.
Advancing R&D of plant-based ingredients and foods on both sides of the Atlantic
OBJECTIVE
Protein Industries Canada is the gateway for international relationships in ingredients and food
ACTIONS
- Create opportunities to showcase Canada and our members to priority international markets
RESULTS
- Participation in panels at key international events—speaking on the FDI value proposition, the opportunity for investment and Canada as the strategic partner of choice for developing international supply chains.
- Participation in GAC briefing events and investor information sessions in the market.
ACTIONS
- Collaborate with GAC, TCS, Invest in Canada and AAFC to create demand for Canadian products in key international markets, including coordination with Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy
RESULTS
- Monthly calls with TCS, Invest in Canada and AAFC to identify and process market opportunities.
- Virtual attendance in market briefings and in-person participation in panels/pavilions:
- Plant-Based World Expo – Europe (UK)
- AFTEA (Singapore)
- Future Food-Tech (Chicago)
ACTIONS
- Collaborate with international organizations on the development of policies and initiatives aimed at driving growth in the plant-based food sector
RESULTS
- PIC has signed a letter of support to participate in the National Alternative Protein Information Centre (NAPIC) based in the UK. This collaboration will work to identify new funding mechanisms to facilitate bilateral and multilateral R&D projects to advance the plant-based food sector.
- Sponsorship and support of the Plant-Based Foods of Canada annual conference and provision of a speaker for the Centre for Regulatory Research and Innovation (CRRI).
- Participation in the Plant Based Foods Global Alliance summit (postponed until 2025).
Ecosystem Evolution
Canada has a competitive business environment for ingredient manufacturing and food processing
OBJECTIVE
Value-added agriculture, ingredient manufacturing, food processing and bio-products is a priority sector for Canada
ACTIONS
- Leverage The Road to $25 Billion (Roadmap) to increase the awareness of the opportunities, challenges and potential solutions to grow the sector
- Develop and execute an engagement plan for all levels of government to implement the recommendations in the Roadmap
- Engage with commodity organizations and industry associations to increase support for the recommendations in the Roadmap
View The Road to $25 Billion
RESULTS
- During the 2024–25 fiscal year, Protein Industries Canada released two follow-ups to The Road to $25 Billion, outlining the specific actions that need to occur to grow the industry.
- Protein Industries Canada did regular outreach to all levels of government and agencies to help advance the recommendations of The Road to $25 Billion.
- Copies of The Road to $25 Billion and the Next Steps document were sent to provincial and federal commodity associations. Meetings were held with several organizations to discuss areas of overlap and potential collaborations.
- In December 2024, Protein Industries Canada held provincial roundtables in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba with leaders from across the agricultural sector to discuss how to advance The Road to $25 Billion and ensure widespread support.
Progress & Prosperity: Advancing on The Road to $25 Billion
OBJECTIVE
Canada’s regulatory system is responsive and supports innovation and commercialization of novel ingredients, food, feed and bioproducts
ACTIONS
- Execute on the first year’s work plan of the Centre for Regulatory Research and Innovation (CRRI)
- Engage with Technology project participants to proactively address regulatory and policy hurdles
- Advocate for policy and regulatory changes that support sector growth
- Drive the creation of data sets to support regulatory and policy changes
RESULTS
- Service agreements for 12 of 13 CRRI projects have been executed, with the last expected to be ratified by the end of January 2025.
- Joined the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Science and engaged with industry, academia and government officials as part of the protein committee to execute on research projects relevant to protein across sectors.
- Executed partnerships with the Canadian Nutrition Society to facilitate webinars and podcasts to discuss regulatory challenges in Canada impeding food innovation and the growth of Canada’s plant-protein sector.
- The Director of the CRRI worked collaboratively with the Programs Team and directly with the members to provide support to regulatory challenges.
- Advocated for Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) release of guidance for labelling and market representation for plant-based eggs and dairy.
- Engaged publicly with CFIA and Health Canada on regulatory modernization in public forums.
- Invited participant at workshop for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Nutrition on regulatory modernization.
- Published eight peer-reviewed articles disseminating data with the potential to be leveraged for the advocacy of plant-protein and the inclusion of plant-based products in diets.
The Centre for Regulatory Research and Innovation
OBJECTIVE
Canada has the capital and invests to retain, grow and scale domestic companies
ACTIONS
- Develop and recommend a suite of incentives to support a domestic company’s ability to scale up ingredient processing and manufacturing
- Work to align current Government of Canada innovation and scale-up agencies and programs to support Canada’s ingredient manufacturing sector
- Provide the capital community with relevant knowledge of Canada’s value-added agriculture sector
- Collaborate with the capital community on solutions for ingredient manufacturers
- Create meaningful connections between members and the capital community
RESULTS
- Engaged EY to complete a review of all federal and provincial incentives that exist or could potentially be expanded in scope for application to ingredient processing. Presented recommendations to federal departments and provincial ministries, including the Department of Finance Canada.
- Worked closely with members to better understand their business models and cost of construction to understand what type of incentives would help increase Canada’s competitiveness.
- Advocated with multiple federal departments about the potential of Canada’s value-added agriculture sector to be a solution for Canada’s productivity crisis and the need for the sector to be recognized as an important part of Canada’s economy with access to government programs, such as specified investment flow-through (SIFT).
- Members of Protein Industries Canada’s senior leadership team participated in the AGRI Tech Venture Forum in Banff, Toronto and Halifax.
- Hosted an access to capital workshop with members of the capital community, as well as hosted a panel on accessing capital at PIC’s AGM.
- Have established relationships with FCC, EDC and BDC to find potential solutions to the sector’s capital challenges. Work is progressing collaboratively with increased interest from federal lending institutions.
OBJECTIVE
Canadian companies are improving productivity and addressing the labour and skill gaps through training and innovation
ACTIONS
- Work to develop technical expertise, PhD and post-doctoral fellowship exchanges with select universities and research institutions
- Elevate value-added agriculture to increase support from federal and provincial government labour and skills programming
- Encourage Technology Leadership projects to invest in technologies that improve productivity
RESULTS
- Advocated for value-added agriculture to be considered a priority for government programming.
- Demonstrated that a strong value-added agriculture sector could contribute upwards of $50 billion a year to Canada’s GDP.
OBJECTIVE
Protein Industries Canada members have access to research, innovation and scale-up infrastructure
ACTIONS
- Support companies in navigating domestic and international research and scale-up infrastructure
- Collaborate with the private sector, equipment manufacturers and all levels of government to evaluate and build the business case for a Canadian-based ingredient innovation, scale-up and co-manufacturing facility
RESULTS
- In 2024-25, Protein Industries Canada released a report evaluating Canada’s current innovation infrastructure landscape in value-added processing.
- During the fiscal year, Protein Industries Canada had several conversations with a private company to explore options to build an innovation centre in Canada to support the scale-up of Canadian companies. There is currently a gap in infrastructure to support innovation/small-scale production to support scale-up and customer acquisition. A larger-scale innovation centre that allows larger amounts of products to be manufactured and tested in potential client formulations is key to commercialization and scale-up.
- Protein Industries Canada continues to develop potential funding and operational models to support the development of a large-scale innovation centre in Canada.
Protein Processing Facility Assessment summary
OBJECTIVE
Canada’s ingredient manufacturing and food processing environmental sustainability position is recognized and leveraged as an asset
ACTIONS
- Quantify the environmental sustainability of Canadian ingredients compared to other jurisdictions
- Collaborate with other national initiatives to develop and implement an effective Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system
- Support Technology Leadership projects and members in measuring the environmental sustainability of products
RESULTS
- During the 2024–25 fiscal year, Protein Industries Canada continued to engage with several potential partners on the development of an MRV system, including the Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food (CANZA).
- Currently, 73 per cent of all Protein Industries Canada’s projects under the Technology Leadership stream contribute to greening the economy or have a positive impact on the environment.
Explore all our Technology Leadership projects
OBJECTIVE
Underrepresented groups benefit from the economic growth of the sector
ACTIONS
- Ensure all Protein Industries Canada-funded projects contribute to Economic Reconciliation
- Use the Capacity Building Fund to support the development of projects that bring benefit to Indigenous people and new Canadians
RESULTS
- All Fund II projects are required to include a commitment to economic reconciliation, and Protein Industries Canada has an in-house resource to support consortia in the development of their economic reconciliation plans.
- Currently in Fund II, 55 per cent of projects have completed their economic reconciliation plans.
- There are several Capacity Building projects in development under the “An inclusive sector that brings benefit to every Canadian” priority area.
Protein Industries Canada's role and resources for Economic Reconciliation
Member Prosperity
Our members are profitable and are investing for the future
OBJECTIVE
Protein Industries Canada members commercialize profitable products and services
ACTIONS
- Identify synergies and further partnerships to bring additional investment into member companies
- Manage project portfolio to ensure alignment with our strategic plan
- Manage towards outcomes of Technology Leadership projects to support commercialization of innovative Canadian IP
RESULTS
- Worked collaboratively with organizations, such as FCC, to increase knowledge and awareness of the sector.
- Protein Industries Canada's project portfolio is currently split at 14% genetics, 2% crops, 55% ingredients and 29% products. (targets: crop 15%, genetics 10%, ingredients 50%, products 25%)
- Many of the Fund II projects build off successes and IP created within Fund I projects, with enhanced consortia and objectives of commercialization in the next generation of projects.
55%
of all active projects fell under the ingredient pillar. (target: 50%)
14%
of all active projects fell under the genetics pillar. (target: 10%)
2%
of all active projects fell under the crops pillar. (target: 15%)
29%
of all active projects fell under the products pillar. (target: 25%)
OBJECTIVE
Members have meaningful partnerships and collaboration opportunities
ACTIONS
- Seek follow-on partnerships for existing projects
- Ensure project concepts that are viable but not supported by Protein Industries Canada are channelled to alternative funding sources
- Organize member events, workshops and webinars to support member collaboration and learning
- Increase awareness and usage of the Member Portal and IP Hub
RESULTS
- Several of Protein Industries Canada’s existing Technology Leadership projects saw an increased scope during the fiscal year, as a result of introductions to new collaborators.
- Protein Industries Canada has relationships with National Research Council Canada (NRC), AAFC, Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) and the Strategic Innovation Fund to share projects that are either not a fit with Protein Industries Canada or looking for the next stage of funding.
- Promotion of the IP Hub and the Member Portal occurs as a regular, re-occurring feature of the member newsletter, with a specific article bi-monthly. In addition, the patent landscape analysis is also housed in the Member Portal.
Learn more about becoming a member of Protein Industries Canada
OBJECTIVE
Members increase their Business Expenditure on Research and Development (BERD)
ACTIONS
- Identify gaps in current innovation funding programs and propose solutions to align existing programs with the needs of the sector
- Deliver the Technology Leadership program with a focus on achieving the target industry-matching fund (IMF) ratio
RESULTS
- As part of advancing The Road to $25 Billion, Protein Industries Canada reviewed several other federal innovation funding programs and has identified that overall agriculture, and specifically, value-added agriculture, are not considered priority innovation investment areas. Through outreach, Protein Industries Canada is working to ensure that agriculture is a priority area for the Government of Canada.
- The Fund II IMF ratio fund is 1:1.44.
Organizational Relevance
We are a catalyst for Canada’s economic growth
OBJECTIVE
Protein Industries Canada is positioned to continue to support the growth of the sector
ACTIONS
- Position Protein Industries Canada as a partner to deliver innovation and capital funding
- Continue to develop expertise in ingredient manufacturing and food processing
- Systemize data and insights of the ecosystem and our members
- Evaluate additional revenue streams
RESULTS
- Protein Industries Canada has a proven track record of financial and project management, strong governance and policies, and the ability to act quickly and nimbly—demonstrating our ability to be an efficient partner to the federal government.
- Protein Industries Canada continues to develop deep knowledge of the Canadian and international value-added ecosystem and leverages this knowledge to the benefit of the larger ecosystem.
- Over the past fiscal, Protein Industries Canada further invested in our Salesforce platform to help streamline information collected from our members and better use that information to refine our programming and market development activities
One Team
We have a shared vision and passion to strengthen Canada and create benefit for every Canadian
OBJECTIVE
A Board of Directors that establishes the strategic direction and provides strong governance oversight
ACTIONS
- Ensure the board has the tools and information needed to provide strategic direction and manage risk
- Support the board to be champions for the organization
- Ensure the board is equipped to assess, monitor and implement governance best practices
RESULTS
- Board of directors participate in two strategic planning sessions a year, and all new board members receive a full-day board orientation.
- Policies and procedures are reviewed on a systematic basis as part of committee workplans.
- Key messages on strategic priorities are shared with the board, and board members are engaged as part of stakeholder relations efforts.
OBJECTIVE
Protein Industries Canada decision-making framework operates in an effective control environment
ACTIONS
- Ensure a secure IT environment that will respect the integrity and confidentiality of member information
- Review and refine internal project audit process
- Complete an annual review of all projects
RESULTS
- Multi-factor authentication and ThreatLocker are installed on every computer in the organization.
- Strengthened device usage policy providing clear guidance and expectations to all staff.
- Published project management guide and provided costing guidance to all project participants.
- The first annual review of all projects was completed with nearly 100% compliance by all project members.
OBJECTIVE
Protein Industries Canada provides a high level of service standards to our stakeholders (Board, ISED and Members)
ACTIONS
- Ensure timely, transparent and effective communication of our activities to all stakeholders
- Conduct our Business Development activities in a timely manner that aligns with our strategic plan
- Conduct all member interactions in a professional manner
- Improve our CRM system to better understand member needs and sector-wide statistics
RESULTS
- Protein Industries Canada communicates with stakeholders on a regular basis through both formal and informal channels. Formally, a quarterly email from the CEO to advance The Road to $25 Billion was introduced, as well as a new podcast. Ongoing communication, such as social media, website and a biweekly newsletter, continues to share information in a timely and relevant way.
- Over the past fiscal, significant work to improve our CRM to better collect data was implemented. Through this work, we can better understand member priorities and capacity, which supports Protein Industries Canada to have more insight into the sector and better represent our members in developing new markets and collaborations.
OBJECTIVE
Protein Industries Canada is a values-based, diverse and inclusive organization where differences are acknowledged and celebrated
ACTIONS
- Ensure all staff have the opportunity to participate in professional development activities
- Implement a new work planning process and performance management framework
- Implement a new compensation program to support the long-term sustainability of the organization
- Approach our work with a cross-functional, one-team approach
- Be intentional in fostering an inclusive workplace environment
- Build on the corporate-wide training (The Four Seasons of Reconciliation) to further understanding among staff about Indigenous reconciliation
- Ensure job postings are more accessible to potential Indigenous candidates
RESULTS
- All Protein Industries Canada staff completed R(eal)conciliation offered by the First Nations University of Canada and participated in a half-day training session at the University.
- Implemented a new compensation program for all staff that ensures compensation is aligned with industry, while also supporting the sustainability of the organization.
- Protein Industries Canada continues to make staff development a priority, and personal development is included in every employee's annual work plan.
- Protein Industries Canada holds an annual all-staff meeting that includes a day of professional development.
- All job postings are posted to Protein Industries Canada's career page, as well as on two job boards specific to the Indigenous communities.
