Parka maker Canada Goose opens 96,000-sq.ft. Toronto plant
by Canadian Manufacturing Staff
Plant part of Canada Goose's new global headquarters; doubles company's original manufacturing footprint in Toronto
TORONTO—Outerwear maker Canada Goose Inc. has doubled its manufacturing capacity at its Toronto plant, bringing total shop floor space in the city to 96,000 sq.ft.
The expanded production space comes as the maker of pricey parkas and other cold weather gear officially opened its new global headquarters in Toronto.
Canada Goose also announced the expansion of its 57,000-sq.ft. Winnipeg production facility.
Combined with the Toronto factory, the company has added close to 200 new manufacturing jobs at both plants.
“When other companies moved production overseas to chase better margins, we took a big risk and told the world that ‘Made in Canada’ was going to work,” company president and CEO Dani Reiss said in a release.
“We made a decision to keep production at home and we continue to invest in rebuilding manufacturing infrastructure here in Canada to deliver on that commitment. We’re proud of the new jobs we’ve created and to help spread the brand of Canada around the world.”
One of the biggest challenges the company said it faced as it expanded was finding skilled sewers, however Canada Goose said it has addressed the issue by working with various government and community organizations and creating in-house training programs.
Today, Canada Goose employs approximately six per cent of the cut and sew labour industry in Canada.
In the past decade, Canada Goose has grown more than 4,000 per cent.
“From a small warehouse in 1957, to an internationally recognized brand over half a century later, Canada Goose is truly a Canadian treasure,” federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver said in the statement released by the company.
“Its high quality apparel, including extreme weather outerwear, is manufactured in Canada and sold in over 50 countries. The new global headquarters and factory expansion will create good paying jobs and benefit the entire country.”
Canada Goose’s new headquarters was originally built in the 1940s for school and office supply firm Hilroy, now owned by ACCO Brands Corp.
The Canada Goose facility in Winnipeg was first built in 1916 for the Stovel Printing Co. and features leading-edge technology in fabric cutting, down-filling and sewing.
