Mayor and elected officials welcome government and industry leaders to address labour issues and increase collaboration within the sector
BRAMPTON – The City of Brampton hosted the inaugural Brampton Food and Beverage Processing Summit. The summit included participation and support by all levels of government. Local food and beverage companies participated and included Maple Lodge Foods, Italpasta, Sofina Foods and Coke Canada Bottling.
Led by Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton, the event brought together Ontario Mayors to work collaboratively with all levels of industry, government, and academia to promote awareness, advocacy, and strategic policy initiatives. This will further strengthen the food and beverage sector through advancements and investments in the food and beverage processing sector, with a specific focus on labour and immigration.
The food and beverage processing industry in Brampton contributes $1.3 billion annually to Canadian GDP and employs approximately 8,500 people across 300 companies ranging in manufacturing, processing and support industries. Brampton’s food and beverage sector is a one-stop shop, complete with food testing, processing and packaging facilities as well as transportation, packaging design, equipment and refrigeration storage.
Recently, Brampton’s food processing sector was awarded a first-place ranking in the Food Processing Leaders category of Business Facilities Magazine’s 19th Annual Metro Rankings Report. Compared to other international mega-cities in this category, including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and Dallas, Brampton remained at the number one spot on this list, scoring highest in factors such as employment opportunities, new projects and investments and programs that support the sector.
Brampton’s thriving food and beverage sector is a key part of the food cluster in Ontario, home to one of North America’s largest agri-food sectors. The City of Brampton remains committed to ensuring the local food and beverage processing sector remains strong by providing first-class economic development services through its dedicated and talented team. For more information about Brampton’s food and beverage sector, please visit City of Brampton | InvestBrampton | Economic Development.
“It was a pleasure to host both government and industry leaders at Brampton’s inaugural Brampton Food and Beverage Processing Summit, and I’m thrilled to create a forum for sharing ideas and solutions while advocating to support the growth of our local food and beverage sector. We are listening to the feedback that was provided during the summit and are committed to applying it to make meaningful changes. By working together, we can create a sustainable and thriving sector that meets the needs of both consumers and workers. – Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton