The Canadian government has pledged $1 million to launch a cellular agriculture initiative in the Prairies, aiming to transform regional agricultural outputs into biomanufacturing inputs while addressing gaps in talent and infrastructure.
The project, dubbed the Cellular Agriculture Prairies Ecosystem (CAPE), is led by non-profit New Harvest Canada and supported by matching contributions from both industry and academic partners.
CAPE will establish a three-year applied research ecosystem across Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, leveraging Canada’s Prairie farming backbone. The initiative builds on a 2022 partnership between New Harvest and the University of Alberta to create an Institute of Cellular Agriculture.
12 organisations – including the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers, biotech firm Stelo Biotechnology, and universities such as Dalhousie and Lethbridge Polytechnic – will collaborate to commercialise sustainable alternatives to imported goods.
A cohort of PhD and postdoctoral researchers will join the program in May 2025, focusing on valorising agricultural byproducts like canola waste into cell-culture media and exploring underutilised crops such as sugar beets.
“Alberta’s farmers and producers work hard to feed our communities and drive our economy,” said the Honourable Terry Duguid, Minister for PrairiesCan. “This investment in New Harvest Canada is about supporting innovation that builds on that strength – creating new opportunities for producers, making our food system more resilient, and ensuring a strong, sustainable future for Alberta’s agriculture sector.”
The project aims to reduce food production emissions by up to 20% in pilot regions by 2028 through circular agriculture models. Early-stage ventures include lifecycle assessments to guide start-ups in commercialising lab-grown dairy and meat alternatives.
CAPE aligns with Canada’s $2.1 billion Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy, which prioritises reducing reliance on imported food ingredients. Analysts note the Prairies’ existing canola and pulse crop infrastructure could lower production costs for cellular agriculture by 30-40% compared to coastal hubs.
