Sanofi Opens Canada’s Largest Vaccine Plant in Toronto

A Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis vaccine box is shown during a tour of the facilities of vaccine producer Sanofi in Toronto on May 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

French drugmaker Sanofi has opened Canada’s largest vaccine plant in Toronto, and will start production in 2027, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced.

“This is the largest bio-manufacturing facility in Canadian history, and it will create and maintain hundreds of high-skilled jobs,” Mr. Trudeau said at a press conference in Toronto on May 30.

The new facility, spanning 200,000 square feet, is meant to significantly increase Canada’s domestic production of pediatric and adult vaccines for diseases such as whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. Those vaccines will then be exported to 60 countries.

The facility cost $800 million, including a $20 million investment from the federal government and $50 million from the province of Ontario. Mr. Trudeau said investments in bio-manufacturing mean “creating hubs for research and development” in Canada.

Mr. Trudeau said vaccines against diseases such as polio, tetanus and measles had saved many lives over the years. “We know that whooping cough kills approximately 400,000 people around the world every year. These are preventable deaths, so the vaccines produced right here will save lives right around the world,” he said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the investment represented a “vote of confidence” in Toronto and Canada.

“This new facility is going to employ more than 200 workers and significantly increase the country’s production of vaccines, helping to secure our domestic supply chains and ensure people across the country can get life-saving shots when they need them,” he said.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said the opening of the factory would “further solidify Toronto’s place as a home for forward-thinking research and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals.”

Since the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020, the federal government has invested more than $2.2 billion in 38 projects in the biomanufacturing ecosystem. These include $1.3 billion in funding for 12 new or expanded biomanufacturing plants to make vaccines and antibody treatments.

In February 2023, a new mRNA vaccine production facility was completed in Laval, Quebec, aiming to produce 100 million vaccine doses yearly.

The federal government also invested $323 million in Medicago to develop COVID-19 vaccines at its factory in Quebec City, but no COVID-19 vaccines ever made it to market and the facility closed down in February 2023. Ottawa has recovered $40 million of its investment in the now-defunct company to date.