Viterra, along with the Government of Saskatchewan, announced on Monday that the world’s largest canola crush facility will be built in Regina. 

Viterra is expecting construction for the 2.5 million metric tonne plant will begin in early 2022 with production to begin in 2024. 

To give you an idea of the size of the plant, Viterra’s largest canola crush plant in Eastern Canada has a capacity of 1.1 million metric tonnes. 

“If you were to look at this plant alone as its own independent market or export destination, it would be larger than what Japan buys from Canada, what Mexico buys from Canada on an average year. It would make it the second-largest export destination,” said Viterra CEO for North America Kyle Jeworski. 

Jeworski added that his plant will have huge benefits for producers. 

“We've been pushing really hard to diversify our markets for canola seed. And what safer market do we have than our own domestic market in Canada?” 

Viterra chose Regina as the location because of its consistent and growing access to canola seed. The site also has access to both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways and the Regina bypass will allow canola to originate from all directions around Regina. 

Jewoski estimated that the plant will employ 1,000 people during the construction phase and 100 full-time jobs once the plant is operational. 

The project aligns with the Government of Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan to crush 75 per cent of the canola produced in the province. The plan also outlines an increase of $10 billion in agriculture value-added revenue and increasing the value of exports by 50 per cent. 

"Increasing canola crush capacity in Saskatchewan will benefit both our canola producers and the innovative companies like Viterra who recognize our industry for the high-quality and reliability that we are known for around the world,” Minister of Agriculture David Marit said in a press release.