Maple Leaf, McCain plants get funding boost

The Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon will be able to upgrade its equipment and increase efficiency after the Manitoba government announced $6 million in funding for processing facilities across the province.

Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn made the announcement in front of the Brandon plant at a press conference on Wednesday.

“It is uncertain times. We need strong farms and we need good, strong food processors,” said Kostyshyn, the MLA for Dauphin.

The $6 million will be split between 19 different companies, including meat processing, agriculture, dairy and brewing plants, with more than $1 million going to Maple Leaf and $2.5 million to the McCain Foods production plant in Carberry.

The federal government is covering 60 per cent of the funding, with the province putting in the rest, Kostyshyn said.

“The funding helps them buy equipment and invest in new technologies,” he said. “We’re here to help them grow and be competitive as we find new and emerging markets around the world.”

Kostyshyn said the aim is to keep Manitoba connected in interprovincial trade, as tariffs from the United States and China make international trade more difficult.

“The reality is starting to set in is that we need to become creative in our own opportunities of building from start to finish a finished product and marketing throughout the world and through Canada and Manitoba.”

Maple Leaf Foods vice-president of government and industry relations Kathleen Sullivan said the upgrade will not only help the Brandon plant, but the entire provincial economy.

“It’s more product coming out that can be sold, and it also means that more hogs come into the plant,” she said. “That means we need to grow more hogs here in Manitoba.”

She said with tariffs, everything in the agri-food sector is more important now.

“I think it’s clear to everyone in the industry that we need to be ensuring we have maximum productivity, we are utilizing our capacity,” Sullivan said. “We have product to sell to Canadians, but also to other countries around the world.”

Sullivan said the money Maple Leaf receives will be spent on upgrading the plant’s split saws, which cut pig carcasses. It will improve speed, efficiency and limit waste. Maple Leaf is receiving $1,095,000.

Rob Ackerblade, director of operations for Canada Packers Inc., which shares the Maple Leaf building in Brandon, said the plant processes about 16,000 pigs per day.

During the press conference, he said the company is “very thankful” for the support of both levels of government.

“The investment you’re announcing today will help us modernize the facility with state-of-the-art equipment that will help us improve reliability, efficiency and production quality,” Ackerblade said.

Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard said combatting the foreign tariffs by helping local businesses is important.

“We need to make sure that as we create these new opportunities, we need to create more capacity,” Simard (Brandon East) said. “We need to make sure that as new markets emerge, that rural Manitobans benefit and that agricultural producers benefit.”

He said the 19 companies — some of which are small and family-owned — are an important part of Manitoba’s ag sector.

“These family-run businesses are the backbone of our economy,” he said. “They support jobs in their communities, help support jobs for agricultural producers who supply them to Manitoba and the world.”

The $2.5 million for McCain Foods’ Carberry plant will be used to install new freezers and refrigeration equipment, increasing potato processing capacity by 12 per cent, according to a government handout.

Other Westman beneficiaries include River Valley Specialty Farms in Bagot, which will receive $44,985, and Prairie Fava in Glenboro, which will get $44,557.

» alambert@brandonsun.com