Multiple provincial governments are pitching projects related to ag
Members of the federal and provincial governments attended the inaugural Canada Investment Summit in Toronto this week looking to pitch projects to global business leaders as part of Prime Minister Carney’s plan to secure $1 trillion in total investment in Canada over the next five years.
The federal government’s prospectus included 167 projects from multiple sectors like critical minerals, AI and energy, were on the table.
Provincial governments brought their own deal books with projects related to agriculture.
Here’s what a few governments brought to the summit.
Manitoba
Manitoba promoted three ag projects during the event, which took place Sept. 14 and 15.
One is related to Vermillion Growers, Manitoba’s largest greenhouse tomato producer in Dauphin, Man.
The government sought to secure funding to support production increases.
“The company is scaling up domestic greenhouse tomato production by undertaking a transformative $205-million expansion to scale operations to 90 acres (from 10), across three phases,” the government said.
Another ag project Manitoba pitched is a soybean crushing facility.
The province is home to three processors in the south.
The provincial government wants one in “western Manitoba, recognizing the enormous growth and economic potential of Manitoba’s soybean sector.”
And the final Manitoba ag project featured at the summit revolved around sustainable fuel.
The government pitched Azure Sustainable Fuel Corp. and its work to produce sustainable aviation fuel to be sold directly into the Canadian fuel pool.
Ontario
Doug Ford’s government put out its 28-page pitch book prior to the summit.
The document contains information on 15 projects, including one with fertilizer implications.
Avenir Minerals’ proposed Martison Phosphate Project near Hearst can support “fertilizer, industrial phosphate and battery minerals supply chains,” the pitch book says.
Previous reporting indicates the mining project could produce 950,000 tonnes of fertilizer products per year.
Capital costs are listed at US$1.89 billion and would support construction, permitting and other developments, with mining operations coming online between 2031 and 2033.
Saskatchewan and Alberta
These governments didn’t make summit documents publicly available before the event but showed commitments to highlighting ag.
Sask. Premier Scott Moe promoted “investment opportunities in Saskatchewan’s energy, critical mineral, defence and agriculture sectors,” a Sept. 11 press release said.
Sask. Ag Minister David Marit was also part of the provincial delegation.
A Sept. 11 media release from the Alberta government indicated Premier Danielle Smith and her team would highlight 34 projects during the summit, and that Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Tara Sawyer would attend.
“From agriculture and agri-food to value-added processing, Alberta has tremendous opportunities for investors looking to grow alongside an industry that knows how to compete and deliver,” Sawyer said in the statement.
The investment summit wrapped up on Sept. 15.
The event secured about $500 billion of new investment in Canada, the prime minister’s office says.
Of those commitments, one makes mention of food.
Power Sustainable, a Montreal-based asset management firm, is investing more than $10 billion “for Canadian infrastructure, including power and grid, fibre and data, environmental solutions, and food supply chains.”