Canada aims to boost GDP by expanding domestic food processing capacity

The federal government’s new food-security plan and private innovators are pushing to keep more soy and other crops in Canada for processing, promising billions in economic gains.

New Protein International is operating a pilot facility in Benmiller, Ontario, to extract soy protein isolate without using the petrochemical hexane, aiming to scale up to a commercial plant that would process 70,000 tonnes of soybeans annually. The effort aligns with the federal government’s recently released national food-security strategy, which allocates $3.2 billion to increase the proportion of food processed within Canada to 80 percent.

Advocates such as Protein Industries Canada argue that the right mix of investment, infrastructure and policy could unlock as much as $25 billion in yearly GDP growth. Meanwhile, Ontario growers like Dan Froese, who now ship pickles and peppers to U.S. processors, cite high provincial taxes and stricter regulations as barriers to keeping processing at home. Arlene Dickinson, founder of District Ventures Capital, stresses that the food-manufacturing sector already employs more Canadians than the auto industry and needs more capital to realize its potential. The combined push from innovators and policymakers seeks to strengthen food sovereignty while capturing more economic value domestically.