2026–27 Objectives & Actions
Protein Industries Canada continues to advance the long-term objectives of its five-year strategic plan, aligned with the outcomes and recommendations of The Road to $25 Billion. The 2026–27 fiscal year represents a pivotal period to facilitate research and innovation projects for translating strategy into measurable economic outcomes, as Canada’s food production and ingredient manufacturing sector responds to evolving global markets, productivity pressures, and heightened competition for capital and investment.
Against this backdrop, Protein Industries Canada is increasingly focused on its role as a delivery partner to the Government of Canada—mobilizing private capital, enabling scale and commercialization, supporting technology adoption, and strengthening entry into global markets. Food production and value-added agriculture offer a clear pathway to improved productivity, economic growth, supply chain resilience, and export diversification. Realizing this opportunity requires coordinated action across industry, government, and the investment community.
In 2026–27, our work will focus on accelerating domestic manufacturing capacity, attracting both domestic and foreign investment, improving SME readiness to scale, and advancing technology-enabled productivity gains, including through AI and genomics. At the same time, Protein Industries Canada will continue to support regulatory and policy modernization, strengthen sector intelligence, and reinforce Canada’s position as a globally competitive supplier of high-value food, feed, and ingredient products. All of which will support Protein Industries Canada in advancing on our objectives of our five-year strategic plan, including:
- Support the scale-up and success of Canadian companies through the commercialization of Canadian intellectual property (IP);
- Develop solutions to address the gap in scale-up infrastructure;
- Increase capital in the sector;
- Strengthen our global position and support international market development;
- Build new relationships to attract investment and new entrants into the ecosystem;
- Further define the value proposition of Canada’s high-protein ingredients and food through improved metrics and reporting of sustainability metrics; and
- Act as one team with a shared vision and passion to strengthen Canada and create benefit for every Canadian.
The objectives and initiatives outlined in the following pages are designed to advance these priorities in a disciplined and outcome-oriented manner. Collectively, they support long-term sector growth while addressing near-term constraints facing Canadian firms, including access to capital, infrastructure, talent, and global markets. Through this work, Protein Industries Canada will continue to contribute to building a stronger, more resilient, and more competitive Canadian economy.
Protein Industries Canada will work towards the following actions in the 2026–27 fiscal year to reach the annual and long-term corporate objectives:
Mobilize Capital to Scale Domestic Food and Ingredient Manufacturing
OBJECTIVE
Support the flow of domestic and international capital into Canada’s food production and ingredient sector to increase domestic processing capacity, productivity, and competitiveness which will further support supply-chain resiliency and food sovereignty for Canada.
KEY INITIATIVES:
- Engage systematically with institutional investors, strategic corporates, and development finance partners to articulate return potential, enhance transparency and understanding of project risks, and address structural barriers to capital deployment for large scale projects in Canada’s food production and ingredient manufacturing sector.
- Act as a connector between capital providers and PIC members raising capital to establish or expand facilities in Canada.
- Advance clearly defined scaling and commercialization propositions aligned with federal priorities such as supply chain resilience, innovation, and economic growth.
Establish PIC as a Trusted Source of Sector Intelligence and Thought Leadership
OBJECTIVE
Position Protein Industries Canada as a credible, evidence-based source of expertise on food production and ingredient manufacturing to inform policy, regulatory, and investment decisions from all levels of government, investors and the greater ecosystem.
KEY INITIATIVES:
- Strengthen PIC’s sector intelligence, including innovation, IP, and commercialization knowledge, to support domestic competitiveness.
- Provide timely, data-driven input to government, media, and stakeholders on sector trends, opportunities, and constraints.
- Develop and disseminate concise policy-relevant analysis and briefings aligned with federal decision-making needs.
- Serve as a neutral convenor to support alignment across industry, research, and government.
Enable Access to Global Markets and Trade Opportunities
OBJECTIVE
Support Canadian firms in understanding international market opportunities and increase export readiness for food, feed, and ingredient products.
KEY INITIATIVES:
- Improve member access to international market intelligence and demand signals.
- Facilitate connections between Canadian companies and global customers, partners, and platforms.
- Build repeatable market-entry pathways in priority markets aligned with Canada’s trade objectives.
- Support international visibility of Canadian capabilities through targeted missions and partnerships.
Support the Attraction of Foreign Direct Investment and International Partnerships
OBJECTIVE
Position Canada’s food and ingredient manufacturing sector as the partner of choice to establish more international partnerships and attract investment.
KEY INITIATIVES:
- Identify priority source markets for FDI aligned with Canadian capabilities and strategic interests.
- Promote Canada’s advantages as a location for value-added manufacturing, including feedstock access, innovation capacity, and trade connectivity.
- Support government-led investment attraction efforts by providing sector-specific insight and deal flow.
- Assist members in engaging with international investors and partners.
PIC’S Value Proposition for Members Supports the Growth of Canada’s Food Production Sector
OBJECTIVE
Strengthen Protein Industries Canada’s value proposition for members to maximize industry participation, accelerate sector-wide growth and commercialization, and ensure public investments translate into measurable economic and innovation outcomes aligned with federal priorities.
KEY INITIATIVES:
- Align member services with priority growth areas, including scale-up, commercialization, and market access.
- Provide members with data and analysis related to regulatory and policy modernization to support investment and growth decisions.
- Deepen engagement with members to better understand constraints, opportunities, and market needs.
- Tailor support to reflect varying levels of maturity across the sector.
Improve SME Readiness for Commercialization and Scale
OBJECTIVE
Increase the ability of Canadian SMEs to scale, commercialize, and compete in domestic and international markets.
KEY INITIATIVES:
- Support SME readiness through guidance on IP protection, investment readiness, and market access.
- Create pathways to scale through access to infrastructure, toll processing, and commercialization partners.
- Identify and address skills and talent gaps affecting SME growth.
Execute on Technology Leadership, Capacity Building, AI and Genomics Programs
OBJECTIVE
Execute Protein Industries Canada’s Technology Leadership, Capacity Building, AI, and Genomics programs to build a strong, investment-ready pipeline of projects that accelerate productivity, commercialization, and scale, and reinforce Canada’s position as a global leader in food production and ingredient innovation.
KEY INITIATIVES:
- Execute PIC’s Technology Leadership and Capacity Building programs with a clear focus on delivery, innovation, scale, and measurable economic outcomes.
- Build and maintain a strong pipeline of industry-led projects that advance AI, genomics, and enabling technologies across food, feed, and ingredient manufacturing.
- Ensure PIC investment priorities are aligned with industry priorities.
- Support AI-enabled applications in priority areas such as crop improvement, ingredient functionality, process optimization, and manufacturing efficiency.
- Manage outcomes of Technology Leadership projects to support the commercialization of innovative Canadian IP.
Reinforce Food Production and Value-Added Agriculture as a National Economic Priority
OBJECTIVE
Support a shared understanding of food production and value-added agriculture as drivers of economic growth, resilience, and competitiveness.
KEY INITIATIVES:
- Communicate the economic and strategic value of value-added agriculture using clear, evidence-based narratives.
- Highlight member outcomes that demonstrate return on public and private investment.
- Position the sector within broader industrial and economic strategies to support the federal government’s larger objectives of economic growth and resiliency, sovereignty, and expanded export markets.
Support Regulatory Modernization and Strategic Research Alignment
OBJECTIVE
Contribute to a regulatory system that is responsive to the needs of Canada’s food and protein sectors by participating in strategic research that enables innovation, scale, and competitiveness of Canada’s plant-based food, feed and ingredient sector.
KEY INITIATIVES:
- Leverage regulatory momentum to support predictable, science-based pathways to market.
- Support strategic research partnerships that address cross-cutting sector regulatory and policy challenges.
- Provide evidence and analysis to inform regulatory and policy decision-making.
- Contribute to the national and international dialogue on best practice in regulation.
Remain focused on Organizational Excellence, Accountability, and Long-Term Impact
OBJECTIVE
Protein Industries Canada operates as a high-performing, trusted delivery organization—demonstrating strong governance, effective controls, and industry alignment—while delivering measurable economic returns and long-term value for the Government of Canada and Canadians.
KEY INITIATIVES:
- Maintain and continuously strengthen governance structures and oversight to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective stewardship of public funds.
- Operate a strong and controlled environment that supports risk management, compliance, and disciplined program delivery.
- Align programs and investments closely with industry needs and federal economic and innovation priorities to maximize impact.
- Clearly demonstrate outcomes, leverage of private capital, and return on public investment.
- Maintain and strengthen organizational capacity, skills, and delivery expertise to support effective and consistent program delivery.
