Related Information:

Food & Nutrition Fact Sheet

Food & Nutrition Value Proposition Diagram

Contact:

Sam Lee
Director, Life Sciences and Health Care
1 416 673 6681

Food & Nutrition is a strong R&D cluster in the Toronto Region 

• The second largest food cluster in North America (after Chicago) - a $20 billion annual industry that employs over 78,000 people across multiple sectors
• A growing hub of companies that provide products and services, including: Canada Bread Company Limited, Casco Inc., Feedco North America Corp., General Mills Canada, H.J. Heinz Company of Canada Ltd., Hershey Canada Inc., Kraft Canada, Loblaw/George Weston, Maple Leaf Foods International, Maple Lodge Farms Ltd., Neilson Dairy, Newly Weds Foods Co., Parmalat, Parrish & Heimbecker Limited, and Unilever Canada
• The location of a sophisticated customer base that includes a culturally diverse population and food companies accessing multiple market channels
• Home to the Ontario Agricultural College (at the University of Guelph) which focuses on four primary areas: food, agriculture, environment and rural communities
• The nexus for strong links between industry and public sector R&D via networks and organizations such as: Advanced Food and Materials Network (hosted by the University of Guelph), Guelph Partnership for Innovation, MaRS Landing, Soy 20/20, Ontario Agri-Food Technologies, Program in Food Safety, Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs, Guelph Food Technology Centre, and Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario
• Producing an educated and highly-skilled workforce from more than 55 university and college programs in agriculture, nutritional science and culinary arts: 4,000 graduates in 2006 

Advantages

• A world-leading economic region:
  • Named one of the world's top 10 economic centres by Standard & Poor's in 2007
  • Ranked #2 Top City Regions of the Future by Foreign Direct Investment magazine (2007)
  • Ranked #10 most economically powerful city by Forbes.com (July 2008)
• 7.2 million people live in the Toronto Region, making it the 4th largest urban region in North America Canada's largest centre for research and education - location 35% of all R&D conducted in Canada
• Immigration responsive to company needs:
  • Uncapped number of work permits available to foreign workers
  • Process for intra-company transfers is fast and straightforward
  • Special programs allow employers to permanently recruit high-end research staff and other workers within defined occupations
• Strong government support through programs such as Ontario's $1.15 billion Next Generation Of Jobs Fund (clean automotive and other green technology) and $500 million Advanced Manufacturing Investment Strategy (AMIS)
• Canada's largest centre for research and education - location of 35% of all R&D conducted in Canada
• 1.8 million workers (25-64 years of age) with a university degree or college certificate -- the most educated  population in the G8 in terms of per cent of workforce (64%)
• Close to a well-developed transportation infrastructure - air, rail and highway corridors - that easily moves people and goods to cities in the US Midwest and Northeast 
  
  

• Toronto Region universities are a hub of research excellence:
  • 3 National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)Canada Research Chairs in Food Science & Technology
  • More than $1.7 million in NSERC funding for food science and technology research (2006-2007)
• More than $22 million in agriculture and food science infrastructure funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (1998-2008)
  • University of Guelph: Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety (CRIFS), Centre for Nutrition Modeling, Aquaculture Centre, Centre for Food and Soft Materials Science, Centre for the Genetic Improvement of Livestock (CGIL), Institute of Agri-Food Policy Innovation, Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, and Human Nutraceutical Research Unit (HNRU)
  • University of Toronto: Department of Nutritional Sciences
  • McMaster University: Children's Exercise and Nutrition Centre
  • Ryerson University: Centre for Studies in Food Security (CSFS)
  • St. Michael's Hospital: Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre
  A centre of advanced research and development based in Toronto Region universities and research hospitals: