BIG CITY, BIG EVENTS, BIG AMENITIES, BIG FUTURE PROGRESS 2019  Page 6


SouthernAlberta aimingtobecomeCanada’s FoodCorridor


Megan McCoy FOR THE HERALD


H


ighway 3 between Lethbridge and Taber is already the heart of the


agriculture food industry in southern Alberta, but now has its sights firmly set on becoming Canada’s Food Corridor. “Canada’s Food Corridor”


is a brand which may not be familiar to many just yet, but is expected to become a well-known area nationally and possibly internationally in the near future. The City of Lethbridge and


Lethbridge County are working in partnership with the Town of Coaldale, the MunicipalDistrict of Taber and the Town of Taber to create a supercluster of agri- food businesses. With dozens of agri-food businesses already established in the area, Trevor Lewington, Chief ExecutiveOfficer for EconomicDevelopment Lethbridge, said that this is a


great place for new businesses to establish themselves. “The idea behind Canada’s


Food Corridor is to promote the opportunities in our region, fromproducer to processor to value chain all the way through, to the world,” he said. Canada iswell known for


great food quality and safety internationally with trade agreements with places such as Europe and Asia, which Lewington believes this will encourage growth of the Food Corridor. Last year, the federal


government announced a supercluster program looking to allocate almost $1 billion nationally. Five applicationswere


picked including Protein Industries Canada (PIC), which is a pan-provincial network (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) that works with plant-based programs to growthe industry. The federal government


contributed $153 million to PIC which was matched by private businesses and


Herald file photo by Ian Martens Passenger and commercial traffic travels along Highway 3 in front of theMcCain plant east of Coaldale.


FRANK BEEKMAN 1510 - 31st Street North Lethbridge, Alberta T1H 5J8


Phone: 403-328-8022 • 403-328-8033 Fax: 403-327-1107


fbeekman@wesbridgeconstruction.com www.wesbridgeconstruction.com


Proud Member of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce 2019


matched again by venture capital, resulting in around $500 million to help stimulate the economy and get interest in plant-based proteins. Lewington said the purpose of superclusters is to take a strength and build it so that it can be world class, and there is no reason southern Alberta should not be seen as the global leader in plant-based proteins and agri-food production. “Yes, it’s


interesting


thatwe have locally produced food, but why do we care? Becausewe want to export to the rest of the world,” he said. “World population is growing.” “There’s a growing middle


class in places like Africa and Asia that are looking for more of the food thatwe tend to consume that they can’t produce themselves.” Canada’s Food Corridor is


a relatively new idea that will become more fully established in the next year by building a brand through networking and awebsite to raise awareness of the area’s many diverse opportunities. Martin Ebel, Economic


DevelopmentOfficer with Lethbridge County, said the expertise is already here in in the region, and, he would argue that agri-food businesses looking to expand and growneed to


come to Lethbridge because there is already awell- rounded support structure. “Compare it toNashville


with country music: you don’t talk aboutNashville without talking about country music,” he said. “When people talk about southern Albertawe want it to be recognized in Canada and hopefully internationally as a great food hub.” The area is seen as a great


choice for agri-food businesses for more than just the other businesses established here but because of the educational and research facilities established here that can contribute to the industry such as theUniversity of Lethbridge, Lethbridge College and Lethbridge Research andDevelopment Centre, Ebel said.


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