Moderna’s new factory will be built in the Greater Montreal

The facilities will include a research center and an mRNA vaccine production plant. According to the agreement concluded last summer, production capacity will reach 30 million doses per year, and the company should employ 200 to 300 people initially.

Negotiations are still underway regarding the exact location of the facilities, but Radio Canada has been able to confirm that they will be located in the greater Montreal area.

According to the agreement announced last August, construction should be completed in 2024. It will be the first ever plant for our suppliers outside the United States. A liberal source told Radio Canada that this is a big win for Quebec.

To mark the occasion, the Prime Ministers of Canada and Quebec will be accompanied by a line-up of ministers. Jean-Yves Duclos and his counterpart from Quebec health, Christian Dube, will co-star in the announcement. The Federal Minister of Innovation, François-Philippe Champagne, and Quebec’s Minister of Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon will also be present.

Last August, the federal government reached an agreement with the US pharmaceutical company to build a plant in Canada. Moderna’s CEO, Stephan Bancel, did not want to advance where he intended to get the new installation out of the ground. Although close to Montreal, other cities in Quebec and Ontario, such as Quebec, Sherbrooke, Laval, and Toronto, have shown interest.

Bancel then said that he did not want to rush into his decision, referring to the fact that it had to be taken seriously: You have to understand that these are decisions not for six months or a year or two years, but for 20, 30, 40 years. It is really important that we do this in a place where we have the right level of talent, because they will become employees of Moderna.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Trudeau government has promised to put Canada’s vital manufacturing sector back on its feet. To date, Ottawa has invested $1.6 billion in about 30 projects related to biomanufacturing, vaccines, and therapeutics.