Bioscience in
Prince Edward Island
Clean Tech
Advanced Manufacturing
Information and Communications Technology
Bioscience
Arts and Culture
Food Development and Processing
Aerospace
PEI’s Bioscience Sector Snapshot
Opportunity is waiting in the Bioscience sector in Prince Edward Island. From multinational corporations to small and medium enterprises, contract research organizations and contract manufacturing organizations, the foundation for a strong sector can be found on PEI.
PEI’s strength lies in its focus and collaborative, partnership-based approach. Forget the red tape, our size and interconnectedness allow for unrivaled action and fast decision making. In PEI, industry, government and academia come together to support the overall success of the sector and its continued growth.
With over 2,200 skilled employees, and over 60 companies, there has never been a better opportunity to be a big fish in a small, dynamic pond.
Competitive Advantages:
Industry Landscape
A collaborative business environment, world-class research institutions and infrastructure, home to incubators and accelerators dedicated to the bioscience industry.
Talent
PEI’s Bioscience sector has built a reputation for its ability to attract, retain, and train world-class talent.
Cost Effective Location & Business Supports
A cost effective location for business supported by a vibrant diverse, growing economy, industry expertise, and strategic funding supports.
A Place to Live that Works
Beautiful and safe communities, minimal traffic, more affordable housing and a quality of life that is second to none.
INDUSTRY LANDSCAPE
The industry in PEI is diverse, with multi-national and SME enterprises operating in the province engaging in research, development and commercialization of bioactive products.
- The bioscience sector contributed to over $214 million to Prince Edward Island’s GDP in 2018.¹
- Over 60 bioscience companies and 7 research organizations call PEI home.²
- A skilled workforce of over 2,200 individuals – and growing!³
To support ongoing growth of the sector, world-class knowledge-based infrastructure and equipment can be found at these institutions:
PEI BioAlliance
The PEI BioAlliance is a private sector-led not-for-profit organization dedicated to building the bioscience industry on PEI. By working collaboratively with our partners, we have created a unique environment that promotes excellence in research and provides strong leadership and business support to companies at all stages.
BioFoodTech
Bio Food Tech Centre provides lab and pilot plant-scale services, incubation facilities and equipment to support manufacturing for test marketing & sales. Transforming ideas into reality.
Canada's Smartest Kitchen
Canada’s Smartest Kitchen – Works with Food & Beverage companies of all sizes, from startups to multinational companies alike in delivering market-validated product development solutions.
Emergence
Emergence is an incubator specializing in helping Atlantic Canadian startups and early-stage companies move from research and technology development to commercial success.
The Biocommons Research Park
The Biocommons Research Park spans 65 acres and provides centralized manufacturing scale-up, technology and infrastructure to accelerate products through the development cycle and into market.
Regis & Joan Duffy Research Centre
Regis & Joan Duffy Research Centre – A state-of-the-art bioscience & health research centre located on the campus of UPEI. The centre is home to the National Research Council Institute for Nutrsciences and Health, Agri-Food Canada.
Provincial and Federal governments announced a $50 Million investment into the development of a new BioAccelorator to advance biomanufacturing in Canada
In Good Company
TALENT
Industry Employment Growth
Since 2015, employment in the industry grew by almost 60%.⁴
Loyal Workforce
The average job tenure in PEI is over 8.5 years!⁵
Skilled + Knowledgeable Talent
The industry now employs over 2.4% of the Island’s workforce with 80% of new recruits coming from the Atlantic Canada region.⁶
PEI's Talent Pipeline
- Home to three post-secondary institutions and CASTL – educating, training, and skilling key talent for the bioscience sector on PEI.
- 21 public post-secondary institutions to draw from in the Atlantic Canada region, 19 within a five-hour drive from PEI!
- A talent draw base of over 10,800 skilled people employed in Atlantic Canada’s bio-economy.
- PEI biosector companies can access to the permanent Atlantic Immigration Program to support faster hiring of international graduates and internationally trained talent.
PEI’s Post-Secondary Institutions & Training Partners
University of Prince Edward Island
Atlantic Veterinary College
CASTL - Canadian Alliance for Skills & Training in Life Science
Cost Effective Location & Business Supports
Prince Edward Island prides itself on providing its companies with the most advanced frameworks to support company growth – Including access to high speed internet across the entire province and world class infrastructure.
Featured Programs for Bioscience Companies
- PEI Labour Rebate
- Capital Acquisition Assistance
- Marketing Support Assistance
- Rental Incentive Assistance
- Enriched Investment Tax Credit
- Innovation Fund
Innovation PEI provides unique and innovative approach to help ICT companies. A labour rebate is much more flexible than traditional tax credits.
PEI’s Labour Rebate Highlights:
- Rebate on labour expenditures based on PEI
- Easy claiming process – no complex filing
- Quarterly claiming process to ease cash flow
- No limits on job functions
- Companies are pre-approved before costs are incurred
Capital Acquisition Assistance supports Prince Edward Island businesses investing in technology, equipment, and infrastructure needed to grow their business and increase capacity and competitiveness. The program provides businesses with financial assistance to leverage other traditional and non-traditional financing and reduce risk.
Marketing Assistance helps Prince Edward Island businesses with marketing costs to execute exporting plans and activities. The fund enables businesses to accelerate sales and increase their market reach.
Rental Incentive Assistance contributes to rental costs for Prince Edward Island businesses to establish a new business or to expand existing production capabilities.
The Enriched Investment Tax Credit complements the existing PEI Corporate Investment Tax Credit of 10 per cent. The tax credit is applied to certain capital investments made by manufacturing and processing businesses.
The Innovation Fund assists businesses to bring a new product, service, or process (“product”) to market by providing financial support for the costs to refine and commercialize an innovative product that has demonstrated potential for export market uptake.
The Innovation Fund has two streams:
- The New Product stream can support the transition from a demonstrated beta/pilot/prototype product to the final stage refinements for scale-up and full commercial development of the product.
- The Product Diversification stream can support the adaptation of an existing product for a new market segment, where refinement and enhancement changes are required to function in a new geographical area, vertical or industry (to adjust to different requirements, such as regulatory/legal, business environment, industry requirements, culture, etc.).
Visit our complete list of available business support programs here.
A PLACE TO LIVE THAT WORKS
Not only is Prince Edward Island the ideal location for business, it offers an opportunity to experience a quality of life that is second to none. With Prince Edward Island’s like-minded communities, thriving arts and culture environment, and coastal lifestyle, you are sure to find a place to live that works.
Learn more about living in PEI.
GET IN TOUCH
Need more information about the Bioscience Sector in Prince Edward Island? Get in touch with one of our team members to navigate opportunities and incentives, get in-depth industry information, and make connections with key business leaders.
Brad Mix
SENIOR DIRECTOR BUSINESS ATTRACTION
Sources
1, 2 & 3. Prince Edward Island Bioalliance (2022). The Prince Edward Island Bioscience Cluster Economic Impact Analysis. February 2020. Prince Edward Island Bioalliance. https://peibioalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Economic-Impact-Assessment_Feb202020-Final.pdf
4. Prince Edward Island Bioalliance (2022). The Prince Edward Island Bioalliance HR Strategy 2025 Breaking Barriers – Driving Growth. May 2022. Prince Edward Island Bioalliance. https://peibioalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/PEI_BIO_HrDocument_Ver6.pdf
5. Statistics Canada (2023) Table 14-10-0055-01 Job tenure by industry, annual https://doi.org/10.25318/1410005501-eng
6. BioTalent Canada (2021). A Close-up on The Bio-economy Labour Market Intelligence, Regional Spotlight, Atlantic Canada. December 2021. Bio-talent Canada. https://www.biotalent.ca/wp-content/uploads/BioTalent-Canada-LMI-Regional-Atlantic-06DEC2021.pdf