Saskatchewan Minerals Industry Overview

Why Saskatchewan?  

Saskatchewan is a leading centre of conventional agricultural research and biotechnology in Canada  

Home to two renowned research universities, three research parks and numerous research and training institutions  

The province is home to more than 700 research scientists working in 30 private, public and academic facilities  Saskatchewan has strong research institutions, which are an asset for industry development

The province’s R&D infrastructure is especially strong in crop production and processing  

Saskatchewan has over 40% of Canada’s agricultural land  

A renowned biotechnology and agri-food sector and global linkages with partners around the world  

World’s top exporter of lentils, dried peas, oats and flax  Supplier of a third of the world’s durum wheat

Exporter of almost one-quarter of the world’s canola meal and one-fifth of the world’s canola oil Supplier of almost 40% of the world’s potash, mainly for crop nutrient use  

A strong track record of agriculture research with positive results, such as low- or no-till agriculture

Our Competitive Edge  

The University of Saskatchewan offers a full range of health science colleges, all with intensive research programs and a teaching hospital.  

The Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization – International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) is a world leader in developing human and animal vaccines and technologies against infectious diseases. VIDO-InterVac’s cutting-edge technology and facilities provide unparalleled opportunities for research.  

The Canadian Light Source (CLS) is Canada’s only synchrotron and one of the two most powerful in North America. The CLS allows scientists to explore the structural and chemical properties of materials at the molecular level.  

The Saskatchewan Centre for Cyclotron Sciences supplies radioisotopes for medical scans as well as for research, from exploring new cancer treatments to developing new crops.  The Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Centre (SSSC) is a multidisciplinary research centre that complements the CLS and is operated by researchers whose expertise includes synchrotron science, biophysical chemistry, magnetic resonance spectroscopy and laser technology.  

The University of Regina supports the growth of knowledge industries in Regina – the provincial capital – which has the fifth highest concentration of information technology professionals, as a percentage of labour force, in Canada.

Innovation and Opportunity  

Innovation Place Saskatoon, one of North America’s most advanced research parks, provides facilities and services on a commercial basis to pharmaceutical, environmental and agricultural industries.  

Innovation Place Regina is one of Canada’s newest R&D parks, with a focus on the natural resource and environmental sectors and information technologies.  

The Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC), located at Innovation Place Regina, is a focal point of petroleum research to develop enhanced discovery and recovery methods to realize more production potential of oil and gas resources.  

The Greenhouse Gas Technology Centre, also at Innovation Place Regina, provides strength in climate change technology development by equipping and enabling leading-edge research on greenhouse gas emissions, capture and containment.  

The International Test Centre for CO2 Capture is a one-of-a-kind facility that will spur the development of innovative carbon dioxide capture techniques to decrease the amount released into the atmosphere and pave the way for new CO 2 storage methods and industrial uses for the gas. The centre is developing innovative technical solutions to economically capture carbon dioxide from industrial gas streams and to store and use this gas for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).  

The National Research Council’s Centre for Sustainable Infrastructure Research is striving to become a national centre for environmental infrastructure management, research and innovation. It will develop, demonstrate and commercialize technologies and management practices for sustainable communities. The City of Regina has become a “community environmental laboratory” to test and assess the applicability of existing, new and emerging technologies and applications to sustainable community development.  

Saskatchewan is Canada’s agricultural genomics centre. Advanced genomics research is being carried out in a number of research organizations in Saskatoon.  

The Saskatchewan Research Council operates a state-of-the-art pilot fermentation facility, which is made commercially available to industry.  

The Plant Biotechnology Institute hosted by the National Research Council is a leader in the modification of canola, oilseeds, cereals and grain legumes. Current research includes work in platform technologies including genomics and proteomics.  The Government of Saskatchewan, the University of Saskatchewan and PotashCorp collaborated to create the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS). This innovative public-private partnership will apply Saskatchewan’s unique resources, innovation and expertise to the global challenge of feeding a growing population.  

The Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc. (Food Centre) is a non-profit organization that has established a reputable role in the food industry for R&D of new food concepts, interim processing, extrusion and food safety training. Since inception, the Food Centre has developed over 600 products with an estimated 50% introduced into the market. The Food Centre is expanding; it will build and equip a brand new innovative facility in Saskatoon in 2017.  

TRLabs, Canada’s leading research consortium in information and communications technologies, conducts applied research in data networking, network access, network systems, photonics, wireless communications and new media at facilities at both Innovation Place Saskatoon and Regina.

Want to know more? Contact:

Ms. Chandra Mark

Deputy Director, Investment

Saskatchewan Ministry of Trade and Export Development

1000, 2103 – 11th Avenue

Regina, SK S4P 3Z8

Phone: (306) 787-9101

Fax: (306) 787-3989

E-mail: [email protected]

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