An MNP report concludes that Canada has built a strong agri-food innovation base but fails to scale it or commercialize it. It invested more than $500 million in startup innovation in 2025 and ranks seventh in agri-food competitiveness among the G20.
Canada is punching above its weight in agri-food innovation, but that progress does not necessarily translate into success. A new MNP report suggests the country has done a good job of building the foundation for innovation, although commercialization has not scaled up.
Canada's advantages, according to the report, are not necessarily translating into stronger business growth or competitiveness. Innovation will be key to unlocking capital in the Canadian agri-food sector, but many companies fail to get past the startup stage.
MNP argues that Canada took good first steps to foster innovation through entrepreneurial networks and public funding programs, with more than $500 million invested in startup innovation in 2025. The country also scored well in an analysis of G20 countries, placing seventh in a ranking based on six dimensions of agri-food competitiveness.
However, the report concludes that there is a significant disconnect when it comes to innovation: Canadian companies develop new ideas and technologies, but get stuck at the next stage of growth. "Overall, Canada remains strong at helping businesses launch, but to be truly advantageous and competitive, more accessible funding is required to support entrepreneurs to move from concept to stable business viability," the report states.
"This requires additional tools and support beyond startup challenges, with a transition toward wider mass-market distribution and scalability," it adds. The study suggests that even small, short-term innovations "can be transformational on one operation's balance sheet."
The MNP report indicates that Canadian companies are underusing artificial intelligence: only 12% of the country's businesses report using it to produce goods or deliver services, a share that rises to 17% among those with 100 or more employees. The firm argues that AI can be used to improve demand forecasting, inventory management and efficiency.
"As margins tighten, finding new ways to improve productivity, manage costs and protect profitability is becoming less of a competitive advantage and more of a business necessity," the report states. "Small, targeted investments in digital tools and artificial intelligence can help address immediate operational challenges while at the same time creating opportunities for long-term growth."
More public funding could help reduce risk at the early stages and support more experimentation. As Matt MacDonald, national leader of food and beverage processing at MNP, put it, investors are not funding innovation itself, but rather the business's ability to commercialize it.
"Companies that can demonstrate operational discipline, reliable data and a clear path to scalability are often far better positioned to attract growth capital than those with a great idea alone," said MacDonald.
According to MNP, there is no exact blueprint Canada can look to when it comes to international success. However, Germany "demonstrates the value of coordinated execution at scale." Germany's advantage, the report states, lies in its ability to pair a large domestic market with efficient execution, which allows businesses to consistently translate innovation into commercial success.
Germany "shows the value of turning strong fundamentals into consistent outcomes. A coordinated food system, a strong manufacturing base and an efficient retail landscape help businesses scale innovations more quickly and compete effectively at home and abroad," the report concludes.
