‘Time is now’ for new Cereals Canada HQ

Scientists have baked bread, created noodles and processed flour in a tower above the iconic Portage and Main intersection for years.

However, Cereals Canada has been calling for a new, modernized research facility for nearly two decades. As of Thursday, the long-sought project is one step closer: the Manitoba government injected $13 million as a “down payment.”

“If all goes well, we’re going to be there for one-third of this,” Premier Wab Kinew promised.

He stood inside Cereals Canada’s 11th-floor pilot bakery. Delegates from Japan, Britain and Italy, among other countries, have walked through the site, observing how Canadian cereal grain crops could work in their products.

Cereals Canada researches and markets such crops globally.

“The customers that are using (Canadian crops) right now know how to use it,” said Dean Dias, Cereals Canada CEO. “But if you’re trying to diversify markets or grow markets, you need to go with expertise and you need to go with data.”

Diversifying markets is top of mind, Dias noted. Canada exports wheat to more than 80 countries. It’s the world’s second-largest wheat exporter and is expected to ship 26.2 million tonnes of the crop globally this year.

Canadian cereal exports were valued at $11.9 billion in 2024.

Still, there’s a need to further diversify given global events, including an uncertain relationship with the United States, both Dias and Kinew noted.

“We’re going up against Australia and America, and they have these really strong offers,” Kinew said. “As Canada, we have to put our best foot forward.”

Cereals Canada is planning a $102-million facility in Winnipeg’s Exchange District neighbourhood. The $13 million of provincial money announced Thursday will match $13.5 million pledged by industry, including crop organizations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

Kinew said the province is willing to contribute to one-third of the total cost — coming to $34 million — if Ottawa provides another third after this month’s federal election.

“I’ve made the case really strongly to all of the party leaders that ag is the backbone of our economy,” Kinew told reporters.

Investing in the new facility — titled the Global Agriculture Technology Exchange (Gate) — will also show producers and exporters Manitoba has a “long-term bet” on them, Kinew continued.

Leadership hasn’t yet signed a deal on land for Gate. A site has been identified, Dias said, declining to give details.

Cereals Canada currently operates in a 30,000-square-foot space. The proposed facility will be slightly larger and state-of-the-art, Dias said.

Baking, milling, noodle and pasta making zones are in the plans, as are oat and specialty grain processing operations. Customers have been demanding more research on oats and couscous, Dias added.

The HQ project has been on-again, off-again for years, he noted.

“The time is never right,” he said. “I believe that the time is now.

“Market diversification, it doesn’t happen by shaking a hand and saying, ‘Buy my product.’ You need to have the technical expertise, you need to have the science behind the data, and you need to prove to them … why our quality is good.”

The United States is Canada’s largest market for oats, second largest for barley, fourth largest for durum wheat and sixth largest for non-durum wheat.

Manitoba shipped $185 million worth of oat products to the U.S. last year.

The Manitoba Crop Alliance has tabbed $2.65 million for Gate. It applauded the province for making a financial commitment.

“We are ensuring Cereals Canada can continue its valuable work in these crucial areas, on behalf of the farmers and the entire cereals value chain,” said Jonothan Hodson, chair of the Manitoba Crop Alliance.

The organization represents approximately 7,700 members. It’s hoping a federal investment for Gate comes next. The stance is a change from June; at the time, Manitoba Crop Alliance was unsure it’d support the new development.

Cereals Canada has contributed $5 million towards the Exchange District space. The new hub will draw various agriculture groups to Winnipeg, Dias stated.

Cereals Canada employs 32 people. The facility will cover about 80 full-time jobs when considering other organizations to use the site, Dias said.

He’s hoping to see the building erected and operational in 2029. Fundraising is ongoing.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com