Sanofi opens $925M vaccine plant in Toronto, creating 300 skilled jobs

What happened

• Sanofi and the provincial government opened the Charles Best building, a new 263,000 sq ft vaccine manufacturing facility at the Connaught Campus in North York.

What it will do

• Manufacture, formulate, fill and package Sanofi’s Fluzone High‑Dose influenza vaccine for adults 65+.
• Serve as a central hub to strengthen Ontario’s domestic vaccine manufacturing and pandemic response capacity.

By the numbers

• Facility cost: $925 million.
• Size: 263,000 square feet.
• Jobs: 300 new positions described as "good‑paying."
• Provincial support: $55 million investment.
• Sanofi’s total announced investment across recent Ontario projects now exceeds $2 billion, with 550+ new jobs across three projects.

Why it matters

• Expands local production of an age‑specific influenza vaccine, which affects seniors and public health supply chains.
• Adds manufacturing capacity and skilled jobs in Toronto’s life sciences sector.

Context from the release

• The project was first announced in 2021 and builds on Sanofi’s existing R&D, manufacturing, clinical and commercial operations in the region.
• The release links the project to Ontario’s broader life sciences strategy and recent metrics about the sector’s size and workforce.