A worker harvests cucumbers in a greenhouse at Mucci Farms in Kingsville, Ont. in June, 2024.Geoff Robins/The Globe and Mail
Upward of US$1-million is coming online for Canadian startups in the ag-tech and climate space.
Wittington Ventures – an investment arm backed by the Weston group of companies – is partnering with U.S.-based Breakthrough Energy Discovery to launch a new funding program that would give two to four applicants US$500,000 each in early-stage capital.
The applicants must be headquartered in Canada and be from Canadian research institutions. The initial focus will be on agriculture. The chosen applicants will be the first entirely Canadian cohort to join Breakthrough Energy Discovery’s global Fellows program.
“Canada has no shortage of scientific talent or interesting research breakthroughs,” said Zeeshan Ali, partner at Wittington Ventures. “The biggest challenge is that many promising innovations stall before they actually become companies and create impact, drive job creation and investment. The Weston Breakthrough Fellows program was really designed to help that gap.”
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Breakthrough Energy Discovery has supported more than 150 climate-tech entrepreneurs since being established in 2021. The program focuses on getting ideas from the lab to market.
Collin Juurakko is a Metro Vancouver local who received around $700,OOO in funding from the program in 2025. His company – Advanced Agriscience – develops products that will help plants withstand frost damage by using naturally existing microbes and turning them into something called “bio-pesticides.”
When the product hits the market – which will be at least two years from now – it will be sold as a shelf stable powder or liquid that a farmer can spread across crops. It could also be applied directly to seeds before they are planted.
Mr. Juurakko studied molecular genetics at Queen’s University, researching how plants respond to cold stress and survive freezing temperatures. He started his company after finishing his PhD in 2022, but found it hard to get early-stage funding.
Canada has government-backed grants for those in the agriculture technology space, but most require cost-sharing, said Mr. Juurakko. And few private investors are interested in agriculture startups in Canada. If they do invest, they often want a large ownership stake and they want founders to move to the larger U.S. market, he said.
According to a February report from Royal Bank of Canada, the national agri-food sector only accounts for 2 per cent of government-backed growth, venture and infrastructure funds. Growth investment in Canadian agri-food is lower today than it was a decade ago. The value of investment has fallen by 32 per cent and deals by 29 per cent.
“That’s what so exciting about this opportunity,” said Mr. Juurakko, referencing the new Weston fund. “They’re supporting Canadians and allowing Canadians to build in Canada, and really highlighting the Canadian exceptionalism we have here.”
In additional to providing early-stage capital, the program will also offer fellows networking and mentorship.
“We believe Canada has the opportunity to lead in climate innovation,” said Mr. Ali. “But leadership requires companies to be built here. And this is actually business building as opposed to idea generation.”
Applications for the inaugural Weston Breakthrough Fellows open June 16 and close July 12, 2026.
Wittington Ventures is a multistage investment platform that backs companies across the consumer, commerce, health care and climate sectors. It is backed by Wittington Investments Ltd, the holding company for the Weston Group which includes Loblaw, Shoppers Drug Mart and Choice Properties.