The Alberta government is pouring more support into the province’s dairy industry, granting Lactalis Canada Inc. conditional approval for a multi-million dollar tax credit to expand and modernize its local facilities.
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Announced on May 26, the dairy giant is slated to receive up to $1.7 million through the provincial Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit (APITC) program. The funds will back growth and automation projects at the company’s processing plants in Calgary and Lethbridge.
Agriculture and irrigation minister Tara Sawyer said the credit builds on the province’s competitive advantages to draw large-scale investment into ag manufacturing.
“Alberta is an agriculture powerhouse partly because of our thriving value-added processing sector,” Sawyer said. She added that the program is designed to stimulate the economy and generate more jobs for Albertans.
Lactalis Canada plans to use the investment to increase processing capacity, upgrade safety processes and deploy advanced automation technologies. According to the province, the upgrades will also assist local dairy farmers by boosting milk utilization and lowering environmental impacts.
The company’s Calgary facility handles fresh and flavoured milk products, while the Lethbridge plant manufactures yogurt, sour cream and cottage cheese. Lactalis Canada’s portfolio includes staple household brands such as Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond, Cheestrings Ficello and Beatrice.
Gilles Froment, senior vice president of government and industry relations for Lactalis Canada, said the tax credit helps accelerate critical dairy sector investments.
“We can collectively create long-term value for local dairy farmers, our employees, communities where we operate and Canadians at large,” Froment said.
Introduced in Budget 2023, the APITC offers a 12 per cent non-refundable tax credit for corporations that inject a minimum of $10 million into building or expanding value-added agri-processing operations in Alberta.
To date, the program has attracted 22 applications representing an estimated $1.85 billion in potential new investment. The province has so far approved 17 projects, worth roughly $1.71 billion.
Lactalis Canada operates more than 30 sites across the country and is headquartered in Laval, Que. Its parent company is based in France.
