The Government of Canada’s top priority remains protecting the health and safety of all Canadians. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we worked hard to secure life-saving personal protective equipment, invest in our health care system, and ensure everyone could get vaccinated. As we recover from the pandemic, we will continue to strengthen Canada’s capacity to develop and produce made-in-Canada vaccines so we can keep Canadians healthy now and into the future, while creating good jobs.

Our governement announced that COVID-19 vaccine developer Moderna will build a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Quebec to deliver made-in-Canada vaccines. When completed, this new facility will be able to produce up to 100 million mRNA vaccine doses annually. It will also create hundreds of good jobs.

Construction is set to start this year and the facility is expected to be operational in 2024 at the earliest, subject to planning and regulatory approvals. In addition to COVID-19 vaccines, the facility is expected to be able to produce vaccines for other respiratory diseases, such as influenza – pending their ongoing development by Moderna and approval by Health Canada.

Strengthening our biomanufacturing and life sciences sector across the country will help re-establish Canada’s domestic vaccine manufacturing capability, bring Canadian innovation to the front lines of tomorrow’s health solutions, and ensure we are better prepared for future health crises – all while growing the economy and creating good jobs.

Quick Facts

  • Moderna is a pioneering biotechnology company specializing in mRNA therapeutics and vaccines. Over 29 million doses of its Spikevax vaccine have been distributed across Canada since the start of the pandemic.
  • In August 2021, the Government of Canada announced a memorandum of understanding with Moderna to build a state-of-the-art mRNA vaccine production facility in Canada. Construction is set to start this year, and the facility is expected to be operational in 2024 at the earliest, subject to planning and regulatory approvals.
  • A definitive agreement is being finalized based on the 2021 memorandum of understanding between the Government of Canada and Moderna.
  • Moderna is committed to partnering with Canada’s leading research universities and institutions to help advance research and development here at home.
  • Today’s announcement marks a major milestone in the Government of Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy. Launched in July 2021, the strategy presents a long-term vision to protect Canadians against future pandemics and other health emergencies.
  • Since the onset of the pandemic, the government has committed more than $1.6 billion in 30 projects in the biomanufacturing, vaccine, and therapeutics sector to support the domestic development and production of safe and effective vaccines and therapies to respond to COVID-19, future pandemics, and other health priorities.
  • Through the Strategic Innovation Fund, the government has supported projects from coast to coast to coast. This includes up to $415 million to support Sanofi in building an end-to-end influenza vaccine manufacturing facility in Toronto, Ontario; up to $175.6 million for AbCellera toward its antibody therapy research and the construction of an antibody production facility in British Columbia; $39.8 million for BioVectra to build a state-of-the-art facility in Prince Edward Island and reconfigure their facilities in Nova Scotia.
  • The government has also invested $126 million to build a new Biologics Manufacturing Centre at the National Research Council Canada’s Royalmount site in Montréal. This new centre will be capable of large-quantity, end-to-end production of vaccines ‒ approximately 24 million doses annually, depending on the vaccine candidate.
  • In addition, Budget 2021 provided a total of $2.2 billion over seven years toward growing a vibrant domestic life sciences sector and securing pandemic preparedness. This funding will help build Canada’s talent pipeline and research systems, as well as foster the growth of Canadian life sciences firms.
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