Projects

To help ensure the sector has access to skilled talent to help fill these job vacancies, the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) and Whitecap Dakota First Nation, with a co-investment from Protein Industries Canada, are coming together to create a new micro-credential for Indigenous youth in Western Canada. This micro-credential will be developed in partnership with industry stakeholders across the country, helping narrow its focus onto skills most needed by employers in the sector.

Assiniboine Community College and Roquette are collaborating to develop and deliver Chemical Engineering Technology Diploma and Food Science Diploma programs to domestic and international prospective students in Canada. These are the first programs of their kind in Manitoba, with the Food Science Diploma being the first in the Prairies. The goal of these new programs is to ensure an adequate workforce for the evolving plant-protein processing and food and beverage manufacturing sectors.

Burcon NutraScience and Pristine Gourmet, with a co-investment from Protein Industries Canada, are coming together to leverage Canada’s supply of sunflower seeds in a project that will determine how best to extract as much protein as possible from the crop. Sunflower’s natural neutral colour and taste, along with its lack of allergens, makes it an ideal crop for the development of new ingredients that can help Canada meet the growing global demand for plant-based products.

Prairie Fava, the leading Canadian fava bean ingredient supplier, is joining forces with Big Mountain Foods, an award-winning innovator of plant-based consumer packaged goods (CPG) foods, to create a new line of fava-based food products, such as non-allergen tofu.

Protein Industries Canada announced a new project to grow the plant-based foods ecosystem in Atlantic Canada. The project will see the Eastern Canada Oilseed Development Alliance (ECODA) work with Dalhousie University and the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) to explore and quantify the value of plant-protein food and ingredients in the Atlantic Region, while also increasing awareness about the sector.

Canada’s plant-based food and ingredients sector is evolving as it grows to meet the increasing global demand for protein. To ensure that evolution is matched by a modern and supportive regulatory system, Protein Industries Canada is partnering with Pulse Canada, Plant-Based Foods of Canada and Loblaw Companies Limited to examine Canadian regulations related to the plant-based foods and ingredients sector to support regulatory modernization.

Protein Industries Canada announced an investment into a project between Oat Canada, a rapidly growing oat-based food and beverage company, and Roquette, a global leader in plant-based ingredients. This $4.1 million project will see the development of novel oat ingredients and nutritionally superior oat-based food and beverage products.

Protein Industries Canada and a consortium of partners, including More Than Protein Ingredients Ltd., Quantum Mechanical Technology Inc. and Hamman Ag Research Inc., are announcing a project to create one of the most functional plant protein ingredients available on the market. The project's partners come from across the value chain, with a commitment to innovate at every step of the way to create one of the most functional and high-quality protein ingredients available on the market.

Protein Industries Canada announced a co-investment with the University of Manitoba and the Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative to improve the Manitoba Sustainable Protein Research Network, a publicly accessible web-based tool with information on the assets detailing research expertise and infrastructure for everyone involved in Manitoba’s sustainable protein ecosystem.

Protein Industries Canada announced a co-investment into the second phase of Canada’s National Index on Agri-Food Performance, alongside lead partners Pulse Canada and the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan, with the support of David McInnes, Coordinator of the National Index on Agri-Food Performance.

Protein Industries Canada announced a project to address the challenges related to raising deployable capital in Canada’s plant-based food sector, making it easier for plant-based food and ingredient processors to access such funds. This increased access to capital will help support the scale-up of small- and medium-sized businesses across the country.

Protein Industries Canada and Ivey Business School at Western University are launching the Accelerate: Leadership Program to support entrepreneurs and SMEs in Canada’s plant-based food, feed and ingredients sector with the skills and talent development they need to succeed.