Cargill's New Canola Plant in Regina Begins Operations Amid Market Changes

Cargill Limited announced on Tuesday that its new canola processing facility on the outskirts of Regina has opened for business.

The $350 million plant, located west of the city at the Global Transportation Hub, is currently ramping up operations and is expected to reach an annual capacity of one million metric tonnes of canola seed, processed into canola oil and meal. That means local farmers will have another outlet for marketing their crops after a year disrupted by tariffs.

Jeff Vassart, president of Cargill, told the Regina Leader-Post: "It sits in the heart of a very strong canola growing region. There is excellent infrastructure for accessing the plant, whether that's truck routes coming in to deliver seed, or rail lines going out to send products to our various customers."

The new canola crush plant, first announced in April 2021, had originally been expected to open by 2024 after initial construction work began in 2022. Various delays pushed the timeline to late 2025 before it finally settled on spring 2026.

It is now formally operating and is expected to reach full capacity in the coming weeks, according to Cargill.

Vassart said in a press release: "This facility strengthens our ability to connect Canadian farmers to growing global demand for food and renewable fuel. By expanding processing capacity in Saskatchewan, we are creating more opportunities for farmers while helping ensure Canada remains competitive in rapidly evolving global markets."

Navigating market disruption and tariffs

The facility's completion follows the reopening of the Canadian canola market to China earlier this year, traditionally one of its largest buyers alongside the United States.

China imposed 100% tariffs on canola oil and meal imports in March 2025, then a 75.8% duty on canola seed in August 2025. Those tariffs essentially halted canola movement between Canada and China until the two countries reached a landmark trade agreement in January that sharply reduced or removed them.

In addition to the market uncertainty of the past year, plans for two other canola plants in Regina were shelved:

• Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) halted its proposed joint venture with AGT Foods for a renewable diesel complex and canola crush plant.
• Viterra, headquartered in Regina, had planned to build a canola processing plant in the area, but it later emerged that the project had been "shelved" and was "unlikely" to proceed following the acquisition of the company by US-based Bunge Limited.

A promising outlook

Despite commodity market volatility and inflationary costs on large capital projects, Vassart said promising demand is driving Cargill forward. He noted that canola oil's position as a food product remains strong, but there are also fast growth opportunities arising from its use as a feedstock for low-carbon fuel.

Vassart added: "There are a lot of challenges that come with a project like this, but we really do believe that long-term demand for canola and its products is one of the key drivers behind why we made this investment."

The newly opened plant is expected to employ more than 100 people across full-time staff and contractors.