Sanofi opens $925M flu vaccine facility in Toronto for seniors

Sanofi opened a major flu vaccine manufacturing facility in Toronto on Wednesday, marking Canada's largest single bio-manufacturing investment. The Charles Best Building, located on Sanofi's 52-acre Toronto campus, will produce Fluzone High-Dose, a high-potency influenza vaccine designed for adults 65 and older—the group that accounts for the majority of flu-related hospitalizations each year.

The $925 million project was funded with $415 million from the federal government and $55 million from Ontario. Construction began in 2021, and the facility is now fully operational, with production expected to begin in early 2027, pending regulatory approval, timed to the 2027–28 flu season. The facility will create about 300 highly skilled bio-manufacturing jobs in Toronto.

Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow attended the inauguration Wednesday. Ford said the investment demonstrates the province's commitment: "if you invest in Ontario, we're going to invest in you." Joly framed it as a lesson learned during the pandemic: "We discovered during that time, key vulnerabilities when it came to vaccines, medical supplies and the supply chain. At the time, we told ourselves, never again."

Sanofi already distributes vaccines made in Toronto to more than 60 countries worldwide. The facility positions Canada to respond more rapidly to future flu pandemics by providing industrial-scale, end-to-end vaccine manufacturing capacity on Canadian soil.