Westman touted for soybean crushing plant

The provincial government is hoping to build a soybean crushing plant — with Westman touted as a prime location — and is looking for investment to make it happen.

The proposed facility is one of several projects the NDP government pitched at an investment summit in Toronto this week.

“We’re in a new world of opportunities that I think provinces or the country of Canada needs to apprehend,” Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn told the Sun on Monday.

Kostyshyn, the MLA for Dauphin, said soybeans were a “very popular discussion” during recent trade missions in certain parts of Asia.

“I think that is why the acceleration of moving forward (with) serious discussions about a crushing facility started to make a lot more sense, and adding up to the full start to finish of soybeans grown in this province,” he said.

The opportunity to create additional jobs in the industry was another plus.

There is currently no soybean crushing facility in the province.

A press release on Monday said the proposed plant would be in western Manitoba. Kostyshyn, however, said he wouldn’t assume that that is the case “at this stage of the game.”

“I would venture to say we’re going to explore all options, and definitely western and southern and central will always be in consideration,” he said.

A spokesperson for Kostyshyn clarified that Westman is the strongest contender for the proposed facility’s location as there is already agricultural infrastructure in the region.

Provincial government data show that Manitoba grows 28 per cent of Canada’s soybeans. The number of acres grown has “basically” doubled in the last 10 years, Kostyshyn said. The data show that 1,906,154 metric tonnes of soybeans were produced in Manitoba in 2025, up 12 per cent from the year before.

“Asia has kind of provided a lucrative market for the finished product to be exported to that part of the world,” Kostyshyn said.

“We’re in a stage where we have the pieces of the puzzle that are there. It’s up to us to kind of co-ordinate and start to build a platform of a new opportunity of processing or added value, creating jobs and creating more economic spinoff in our province.”

He said the development of the Port of Churchill, which was the province’s headline item at the summit, would also create another “artery of opportunity” to ship agricultural commodities to markets like Europe.

“I think we’re just in the foundation of opportunity of agricultural commodities becoming more and more increasingly in demand from the province of Manitoba,” Kostyshyn said.

“We do have that surplus, and we are prepared to share that and create more jobs, create more business opportunities in our province.”

No timeline, cost or other details were available.

Kostyshyn’s spokesperson on Monday said while the plan is “exciting,” a lot of work is still needed.

“This is just preliminary stages. We are trying to promote this. There’s a huge summit happening in Toronto. This is one of the projects that we think is a priority. The federal government has asked us to make priorities, this is one of them,” Caedmon Malowany said during an interview with Kostyshyn.

Investment funds and the country’s leading banks, pension funds, insurers and institutional investors committed about $439 billion at the Canada Investment Summit, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said on Tuesday. Investors from nearly 30 countries were in attendance.

John Preun, a board member with the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers, described the announcement as “great.”

“It shows that the Manitoba economy can move forward, especially in that part, in the Westman, where it’s a new emerging area for soybeans,” said Preun, who grows both soybeans and peas in the St. Andrews area.

“It’s good for all Manitobans, not just farmers. It’s an economic driver that will help put us in the forefront instead of always lagging behind,” he said.

A crushing facility is positive for local jobs, and negates any potential tariff issues with the United States, he said.

“It’s a good deal.”

Preun said part of his crop last year was shipped across the border for processing. While some of it stayed in American markets, a portion also crossed back over the border and went to the local hog industry.

“If everything is priced competitively, why wouldn’t you take locally grown soybeans?” he said. “You don’t have to freight them down there, you don’t have the freight back, so there’s a lot of positives to having a crush plant in this part of the world.”

If a new crushing plant were to be built, Preun said it will likely result in more people growing soybeans in Manitoba.

He said while a large portion of Manitoba’s soybeans are grown in the Red River Valley area, an increase in production would likely be seen in Westman.

“The growth in the Manitoba soybean industry has been slowly moving towards the west, and we’re developing new varieties and getting new varieties that will accommodate that particular region,” Preun said.

“I think slow, gradual growth is what’s going to happen over there,” he said.

Representatives from the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and the Rural Manitoba Economic Development Corporation were not available on Tuesday.

» alambert@brandonsun.com