Ottawa is putting more than $6.9 million into 17 Prince Edward Island businesses as companies adjust to a more difficult North American trade environment. Announced October 1, the non-repayable funding is being delivered through the federal Regional Tariff Response Initiative, with projects ranging from new manufacturing equipment and automation to expanded processing capacity and market diversification.
The support arrives at a sensitive moment for the Island. P.E.I. exported roughly $2.68 billion worth of goods internationally in 2025, with the United States accounting for about $2.08 billion. Federal trade data show Island exports to the U.S. fell 6.6% year over year during the first seven months of 2026, underscoring why Ottawa is emphasizing productivity, domestic supply chains and access to markets beyond the United States.
Trout River Industries Gets the Largest Award
Trout River Industries in Coleman is receiving $987,625, the largest individual investment in the package. The non-repayable contribution will help construct a dedicated material-handling facility designed to increase manufacturing productivity and improve operational efficiency. Ottawa specifically linked the project to the effects of U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs on the company’s trailer-manufacturing business, making Trout River one of the clearest examples of a recipient directly exposed to tariff-sensitive industrial inputs.
The company has manufactured trailers in western P.E.I. since 1999 and specializes in live-bottom and other specialized hauling equipment. Its sales network extends well beyond the Island, including dealers in several U.S. states as well as other Canadian provinces and international markets. That combination of metal-intensive production and cross-border business makes changes in steel costs and trade conditions especially important. Rather than simply covering higher costs, the federal investment is aimed at changing how materials move through the plant, potentially allowing the company to produce more efficiently while absorbing some of the pressure created by a more expensive trade environment.
P.E.I. Brewing Company Receives $790,000
Prince Edward Island Brewing Company is receiving $790,000 for new production equipment and operational upgrades at its Charlottetown operations. The federal government says the investment is intended to improve efficiency, strengthen competitiveness, open additional market opportunities and support longer-term growth. It is the second-largest allocation among the 17 recipients, accounting for more than one-tenth of the entire $6.9-million funding package.
The brewery has grown well beyond a single local beer operation. Established in 2013, it produces and distributes brands including Gahan Beer, Beach Chair Lager and Colliding Tides craft cocktails. Its products are sold not only in P.E.I. and elsewhere in Atlantic Canada, but also in markets including Ontario and Alberta. That existing Canadian footprint gives the company options as trade patterns change. The federal support is therefore less about replacing one export destination with another overnight and more about improving production economics so the brewery can compete across a wider geographic area while responding to higher costs and uncertainty in the North American marketplace.
Somru BioScience Brings More Work In-House
Somru BioScience will receive $747,500 for one of the most technologically focused projects in the package. The Charlottetown biotechnology company plans to acquire and install a robotic fill-finish system along with supporting equipment. The federal government says the investment will allow Somru to internalize packaging and quality-assurance functions, improve productivity and reduce its dependence on suppliers located in the United States.
The project fits a company that has increasingly looked beyond P.E.I. for customers and partnerships. Somru describes itself as a global biotechnology company and contract research organization providing services related to drug discovery, clinical development, bioanalytical testing, biomarkers, biosimilars and vaccines. In June 2026, its Bangladesh affiliate announced an agreement to acquire Novus Clinical Research Services as part of an expansion of its international network. Bringing more production and quality-control activity into Charlottetown could therefore serve two purposes at once: reducing exposure to cross-border supplier disruptions while building additional in-house capacity that can support customers in multiple international markets.
East Point Potato Adds Another Round of Automation
East Point Potato 2009 Incorporated in South Lake is receiving $710,000 for equipment intended to improve efficiency, shorten order turnaround times and allow the company to react more quickly to changing market demand. The company already operates across Canadian, U.S. and other export markets, supplying potatoes into retail, food-service and wholesale channels. That makes speed, packaging flexibility and predictable operating costs particularly important when trade conditions become less stable.
This is not East Point Potato’s first major productivity investment. A separate federal announcement in 2025 included $500,000 in repayable assistance for automated packing equipment designed to increase output and meet market demand. The latest investment pushes the modernization effort further. Potatoes remain central to the Island’s export economy: frozen prepared potatoes were P.E.I.’s largest individual export product in 2025 at roughly $713 million, while fresh and chilled potatoes accounted for another $187 million. For companies operating inside that supply chain, faster packing and greater flexibility can help protect margins while making it easier to shift sales between customers and markets.
P.E.I. Preserve Company Plans More Production Capacity
The Prince Edward Island Preserve Company is receiving $482,500 to expand production capacity, purchase advanced food-processing equipment and establish a new production facility. Ottawa says the work is expected to increase efficiency while supporting further growth in both Canadian and export markets. For a specialty food producer, that combination is significant because expanding sales often requires not only finding customers but also being able to manufacture larger quantities consistently and economically.
The New Glasgow business has considerably deeper roots than its latest expansion might suggest. The Preserve Company has operated for more than 35 years and traces its beginnings to 1987, when Bruce and Shirley MacNaughton transformed a former 1913 butter creamery into a specialty-food destination. Production that initially centred on low-sugar preserves eventually expanded into a larger range of foods, alongside a 125-seat dining room. New owners Adam and Marsha Doiron took over in 2022. The latest federal investment shifts attention toward the manufacturing side of that business, potentially giving the company more room to grow beyond customers who visit its well-known Island location.
Royal Star Foods Gets $430,795 for Seafood Processing
Royal Star Foods in Tignish is receiving $430,795 for processing and operational improvements intended to raise productivity and competitiveness. Seafood processors operate in a business where margins can be influenced by labour, refrigeration, transportation, packaging and access to export customers, so improvements that reduce processing costs can become especially important during periods of trade disruption.
Royal Star has an unusually strong connection to the rural economy around it. The company is a subsidiary of the Tignish Fisheries Co-operative Association and describes itself as the largest Atlantic lobster processor on P.E.I. The co-operative is owned by roughly 230 fishers, while Royal Star’s processing facility handles lobster for retail and food-service markets and distributes products internationally. Its roots stretch back to the development of the Tignish fishing co-operative movement a century ago. The new equipment and operational investments therefore extend beyond a single processing company: greater efficiency at the plant can have implications for the fishers supplying it, the employees processing the catch and the communities tied to the western P.E.I. seafood industry.
Steijn Potato Farms Gets $411,000 to Modernize Handling
Steijn Potato Farms in York will receive $411,000 for advanced equipment and technology aimed at improving potato handling and processing. Ottawa says the changes are intended to increase productivity and make the operation more resilient as trade conditions change. Federal grant records independently describe the project as productivity improvements intended to mitigate tariff impacts, with the assistance classified as a non-repayable contribution through the Regional Tariff Response Initiative.
The farm already participates in both Canadian and U.S. markets. P.E.I. Potato Board listings identify Steijn as supplying food-service, wholesale and other potato channels, while CanadaGAP records list the operation for production and packing of fresh-market potatoes. That cross-border exposure is important because P.E.I.’s potato sector is deeply integrated with customers outside the province. Investments in handling equipment do not eliminate tariff risk, but they can lower the amount of time, labour or product loss involved in getting potatoes ready for sale. In a commodity business where producers have limited ability to simply pass every extra cost to customers, small improvements in throughput can become increasingly valuable.
P.E.I. Mussel King Is Expanding Processing Capacity
P.E.I. Mussel King in Morell is receiving $363,250 for new equipment and technology upgrades. The project is designed to improve processing efficiency and expand production capacity while strengthening the company’s position in Canadian and export seafood markets. For shellfish processors, increasing the volume that can move efficiently through a facility can help reduce unit costs and create more flexibility when customers, transportation routes or export conditions change.
Mussel King has been operating since 1978 and is a family-owned business with decades of experience farming and processing Island mussels. The company’s longevity is notable in a sector that has become an important part of P.E.I.’s export mix. Live, fresh and chilled mussels generated roughly $35.5 million in international exports from the province in 2025. Previous government-supported expansions at Mussel King have also focused on equipment and production efficiency, including the installation of processing machinery to accommodate additional packaging formats. The latest investment continues that modernization strategy at a time when seafood businesses are being encouraged to maintain established customers while developing additional markets.
Livingston Steel Gets $354,342 for Manufacturing Equipment
Livingston Steel is receiving $354,342 for advanced manufacturing equipment intended to modernize production and reduce the effects of tariff pressure on the steel-fabrication business. Unlike recipients whose tariff exposure is primarily linked to customers or market access, a steel fabricator can also feel trade disruption directly through the price and availability of the material at the centre of its operations.
Livingston operates two facilities in P.E.I. with more than 30,000 square feet of manufacturing space, according to the company, and provides structural-steel fabrication, rebar bending, mobile welding and other metalworking services. Its projects can be found across Atlantic Canada and into New England. That geographic reach illustrates why tariff pressure can move through a business in several directions at once: imported or tariff-affected material can become more expensive while customers on either side of the border are also reconsidering sourcing decisions. More productive equipment cannot determine steel prices, but it can reduce production time and improve the amount of output generated from labour, floor space and machinery already in place.
Atlantic Beef Products Receives $325,000
Atlantic Beef Products in Albany will receive $325,000 for productivity-enhancing equipment and operational improvements. Ottawa says the investment will increase efficiency, strengthen food-processing capacity and support market growth. The facility occupies an important position in the region because it provides federally inspected beef processing for Atlantic producers rather than forcing all cattle to be shipped much farther from their farms for processing.
The company was created in 2003 after more than 200 Atlantic beef producers formed a co-operative with the goal of establishing regional processing capacity. Production began in 2004, and the facility has since added ground-meat production and developed brands including Prince Edward Island Certified Beef and Blue Dot Reserve. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada lists Atlantic Beef Products as a federally inspected P.E.I. slaughtering facility, while provincial information identifies it as a key processor for Island cattle. Investments that raise throughput or efficiency therefore have significance beyond the company itself. Farmers, distributors and retailers all depend on processing capacity functioning reliably, making the project another example of the federal program emphasizing domestic supply-chain resilience.
P.E.I. Bag Co. Gets $261,402 at the Centre of the Announcement
P.E.I. Bag Co. is receiving $261,402 for advanced manufacturing equipment and digital technology. The Central Bedeque company hosted the October 1 federal announcement and employs 65 Islanders, according to ACOA. Its products include bags used for potatoes, other produce, flour, sugar, seafood and dry goods, placing the business inside supply chains that most consumers rarely think about until packaging becomes scarce or expensive.
The company says it has served food and agriculture customers since the 1930s and sells packaging across both Canada and the United States. It is also undertaking a broader modernization program involving more than $10 million in new converting, printing and automated end-of-line equipment. The federal tariff-response contribution represents only part of that larger transformation. Packaging is a useful example of why governments are focusing on supply chains rather than only direct exporters: a Canadian food producer can still be vulnerable to trade disruption if essential packaging or production inputs become harder to source. More domestic manufacturing capacity can reduce that exposure while potentially allowing P.E.I. Bag Co. to pursue additional customers itself.
Canada’s Island Garden Receives $260,000
Canada’s Island Garden in Charlottetown is receiving $260,000 for production improvements and operational efficiencies. The federal government says the objective is to increase productivity, strengthen competitiveness and support diversification into additional markets. The company operates in Canada’s regulated cannabis sector and is associated with brands including FIGR, with production based in Charlottetown.
Its recent investments show an emphasis on manufacturing technology. Federal records indicate that Canada’s Island Garden received support through the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program for work on automated manufacturing methods for cannabis-infused pre-roll products. That project focused on overcoming material-handling challenges so infused products could be produced with automated equipment. The tariff-response funding announced in October is a separate investment, but it points in a similar direction: increasing manufacturing efficiency rather than relying solely on sales growth to improve competitiveness. For a regulated producer operating in a market with significant price competition, better production economics and access to more customers can be important tools when outside trade and supply-chain conditions become less predictable.
Bluefield Seeding Solutions Gets $184,257 for Potato Technology
Bluefield Seeding Solutions in North Wiltshire is receiving $184,257 to commercialize technology intended to help potato growers improve productivity and environmental performance. Ottawa also linked the project to market diversification and reducing the impact of U.S. tariffs. Unlike several recipients that process or package physical products, Bluefield is selling technology that changes how those products are grown in the first place.
The company was founded in 2018 by P.E.I. potato farmer Craig McCloskey after he developed a press-wheel system intended to improve seed placement while allowing planters to operate faster. Bluefield later added seed-sensing technology, and its equipment is now distributed in North America. A P.E.I. Climate Challenge project examining the technology reported that a seed-sensing system allowed faster planting while maintaining or improving crop results in the conditions studied, with average greenhouse-gas reductions of roughly four to five per cent across the project sites. Commercializing such technology gives the federal tariff program a different dimension: rather than only cushioning an existing business, the funding is also intended to help an Island-developed product find more customers.
Belfast Mini Mills Receives $175,000 to Scale Its Equipment
Belfast Mini Mills is receiving $175,000 to develop and commercialize higher-capacity fibre-processing machinery. The goal is to meet growing customer demand, expand the company’s product line and create additional market opportunities. The project stands out because the business manufactures the machines used by other small fibre processors rather than simply producing textiles itself.
The family-owned company has been operating in P.E.I. for more than three decades and now manufactures more than 20 pieces of fibre-processing equipment. Its machinery covers multiple stages of production, including washing, picking, carding and spinning, and the company says its systems have been shipped to customers around the world. That international customer base creates both opportunity and exposure when trading conditions change. Higher-capacity equipment could allow Belfast Mini Mills to appeal to larger operators while continuing to serve the smaller independent mills around which its business was built. For Ottawa, supporting that development fits the broader tariff-response strategy of helping Canadian manufacturers create more specialized products that can compete in a wider range of global markets.
Bogside Brewing Gets $150,000 for Production Equipment
Bogside Brewing in Montague will receive $150,000 for production equipment designed to improve efficiency and increase manufacturing output. Ottawa says the equipment will support both beverage production and distribution as the company grows. It is a smaller allocation than those going to the largest manufacturers in the package, but it targets the same basic issue: reducing the cost and complexity involved in producing each unit.
Bogside opened in Montague in 2019 and has since expanded its presence on the Island. Its Montague brewery remains its production base, while the company also operates locations in Summerside and a seasonal site in New Glasgow. Its beverage portfolio has expanded beyond beer to other products including vodka sodas and non-alcoholic offerings. Bogside also distributes selected products through P.E.I. retail channels. That evolution illustrates how local beverage manufacturers can grow without being dependent on a single product or location. New production equipment can make that strategy easier to sustain, particularly when trade disruptions raise the price of inputs such as cans, machinery, ingredients or other materials used in beverage manufacturing.
Amalgamated Dairies Gets $141,100
Amalgamated Dairies Limited is receiving $141,100 for processing equipment and operational improvements intended to increase productivity and strengthen supply-chain efficiency. ADL occupies a particularly important place in P.E.I.’s food system because it is a farmer-owned co-operative and processes the majority of the milk produced on the Island, according to the provincial government.
P.E.I. had 160 farms reporting milk shipments in 2024, generating approximately $118 million in farm cash receipts and producing about 1.26 million hectolitres of milk sold off-farm. ADL, which dates back to 1953, turns that farm production into consumer dairy products. Although Canada’s supply-managed dairy system differs from the export-oriented businesses elsewhere in the funding package, processors still purchase equipment, packaging and other inputs through broader supply chains. Improving processing efficiency can therefore help contain costs even when the finished product is primarily destined for domestic consumers. The relatively modest federal contribution demonstrates that Ottawa’s tariff-response strategy includes businesses whose main role is reinforcing Canadian food-processing capacity rather than simply replacing lost U.S. sales.
Myers Welding Rounds Out the Package With $130,000
Myers Welding in the Tignish area is receiving $130,000, the smallest individual award among the 17 announced projects. The money will help the company acquire advanced welding and fabrication equipment, increasing manufacturing capacity and productivity while strengthening its competitiveness in steel and metal fabrication. Like Livingston Steel and Trout River Industries, Myers operates in a sector where changes in metal prices can quickly filter into project costs.
The locally owned company provides welding and fabrication services to industries including agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture. Its capabilities include aluminum work, MIG and TIG welding, lathe work, boat repairs and fabrication for farming and fish-farming operations. That customer mix gives the project an economic reach beyond one workshop. Farms, fishing operations and aquaculture businesses depend on nearby fabricators for equipment, repairs and specialized components, particularly when downtime can interrupt harvesting or production. Ottawa’s $130,000 contribution is therefore small compared with the nearly $1 million going to Trout River, but it reflects the same strategy: invest in equipment that allows an Island company to produce more efficiently while keeping specialized industrial capacity close to the businesses that use it.
