VANCOUVER, B.C. — October 7, 2026 — BC Food & Beverage (BCFB) is advancing plans for the Pacific Gateway Food Terminal (PGFT), a proposed world-class food distribution, processing and innovation hub in Metro Vancouver designed to strengthen Canada’s food security and help Canadian food and agriculture businesses grow.
The proposed terminal would be approximately 750,000 square feet on a site of roughly 50 acres, strategically located near the Port of Vancouver, Vancouver International Airport (YVR), the Fraser Valley and major transportation corridors.
Designed as shared infrastructure for the food supply chain, the PGFT would bring together five key functions: a wholesale market and distribution space connecting BC farmers, producers and processors with retailers, foodservice and other buyers; cold, frozen and ambient warehousing; aggregation and distribution; shared-use processing and packing; and an innovation and commercialization centre supporting small and medium-sized food businesses.
The vision is to create one of Canada’s leading food infrastructure hubs and establish British Columbia as a gateway for food trade, innovation and distribution across Canada and around the world.
“The Pacific Gateway Food Terminal is about building the infrastructure our food system will need for the next generation,” said James Donaldson, CEO of BC Food & Beverage. “British Columbia has extraordinary farmers, food manufacturers, seafood producers and entrepreneurs. This is an opportunity to give them the infrastructure needed to operate and grow at scale while strengthening Canada’s domestic food system.”
BCFB is advancing the project in response to longstanding challenges facing the sector, including fragmented distribution, limited access to appropriately scaled processing and cold storage, transportation inefficiencies, barriers to reaching buyers and the significant cost of scaling food businesses.
The opportunity aligns with the Government of Canada’s National Food Security Strategy and its Food Link Fund, created to strengthen regional food distribution systems and improve the resilience and affordability of Canada’s food supply.
For BCFB, the opportunity goes beyond constructing a single facility. It is about creating a more connected food ecosystem by better linking the businesses, infrastructure and organizations already operating across the province. The PGFT could help create stronger pathways from regional production through processing and distribution to larger domestic and global markets.
The terminal would be designed to complement and strengthen existing infrastructure rather than duplicate it, creating stronger connections among producers, processors, distributors and buyers, as well as regional infrastructure including the BC Food Hub Network.
BCFB is now undertaking industry engagement and feasibility work to ensure the terminal is built around real market needs. Farmers, processors, seafood companies, exporters, independent retailers, distributors and foodservice operators are being asked to identify challenges including cold storage, transportation, processing capacity, access to buyers, distribution costs and export logistics.
The findings will help quantify demand, prioritize services and infrastructure, and shape the business case for the terminal.
The Pacific Gateway Food Terminal represents a significant opportunity to invest in the future of Canada’s food system, strengthening domestic food security while creating the infrastructure Canadian businesses need to grow and compete globally.
British Columbia has the agricultural capacity, manufacturing expertise, entrepreneurs, strategic location and access to global markets to become one of North America’s leading food and agriculture gateways. The Pacific Gateway Food Terminal is intended to help make that possible.