CANOLA TIMELINE
Sorry,You have not added any story yet
SEEDS OF OPPORTUNITY
An ancient oilseed travels to
Canada in a handkerchief and flourishes.
The ancestor of canola was rapeseed, an oilseed grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe. Emigrants to Canada began growing rapeseed on a small scale in the 1930s. Its popularity grew during World War II as Canada rushed to meet the urgent demand for industrial lubricants.
IN PURSUIT OF A HEALTHIER OILSEED
Canada looks for a new food crop
with a more desirable composition.
After WWII, Canada had two pressing needs – a wider range of crops for farmers to grow and a bigger supply of edible oil. Scientists thought rapeseed could be the answer, if they could breed out erucic acid and glucosinolates. An era of intense innovation began, led by Dr. Keith Downey and Dr. Baldur Stefansson, Canada’s two legendary “Fathers of Canola.”
THE ROAD TO “DOUBLE LOW”
Better oil + better meal = the crop we know as canola.
By 1970, erucic acid content had dramatically improved and demand was growing. However, use was still limited by glucosinolate levels in the meal. By the end of the decade, breeders had overcome this challenge. The first low erucic/low glucosinolate varieties were commercialized, and canola was officially here.
THE WORLD DISCOVERS CANOLA
Research and marketing increase the
value of Canada’s new oilseed.
By the 1980s, science was advancing not just the quality of canola, but also the world’s acceptance. Now research focused on a new goal – revealing canola’s many advantages for human health, food preparation, shelf stability and animal diets – the strong foundation for a new global brand.
INNOVATION TAKES ROOT
Advances in breeding technology create an exciting era of progress.
As a new millennium neared, genetic innovation created a surge in new varieties that were higher-yielding, easier to grow and packed with end-user benefits. Production boomed with the growth of global demand and new uses for canola.
CANOLA TODAY AND BEYOND
A $26.7 billion industry, creating jobs for 250,000+ Canadians
Today canola is the third most important edible oilseed in the world and one of Canada’s most profitable crops. This remarkable transformation is the result of strong partnership throughout the value chain. With continued innovation and risk management, canola’s future will be just as bright.
EXPAND
New frontiers for canola
EXPAND
Yields reach a record high
EXPAND
A united vision for innovation
EXPAND
New target: 52 by 2025
EXPAND
Production reaches 18 MMT
EXPAND
Continued improvements in oil profile
EXPAND
Canola/Flax Science Cluster
EXPAND
Industry and government embark on market access partnership
EXPAND
Renewed commitment to research and innovation
EXPAND
Processing capacity burgeons
EXPAND
Qualified health claim
EXPAND
Canola health research intensifies
EXPAND
First high-oleic, high stability canola introduced
EXPAND
Biodiesel opportunities emerge
EXPAND
Industry begins setting targets for growth
EXPAND
First B. juncea varieties introduced
EXPAND
First GM canola varieties registered
EXPAND
First Canadian variety with high blackleg resistance
EXPAND
Commercial food companies embrace canola oil
EXPAND
Canola options traded
EXPAND
First Canola Production Centres open on the Prairies
EXPAND
First hybrid canola variety registered & first HEAR variety released
EXPAND
First high-stability canola registered
EXPAND
Growing recognition as a healthier culinary oil
EXPAND
Canola trademark amended
EXPAND
GRAS opens door to U.S. market / CCC launches Grow with Canola
EXPAND
First herbicide tolerant canola registered
EXPAND
The Canola Council of Canada arrives
EXPAND
First major booklet on oil quality published
EXPAND
CANOLA officially named
EXPAND
First double-low B. rapa variety registered
EXPAND
First double-low variety registered
EXPAND
Double-low trials begin
EXPAND
Low glucosinolate seed identified
EXPAND
New testing method accelerates research
EXPAND
Low-erucic rapeseed reigns
EXPAND
Health Canada calls for switch to low-erucic varieties
EXPAND
Rapeseed Association of Canada established
EXPAND
Rapeseed acreage exceeds one million acres
EXPAND
Futures market for rapeseed established
EXPAND
First identification of low-erucic trait and transfer to B. napus
EXPAND
New discoveries modernize plant breeding
EXPAND
Downey and Stefansson move into oilseed research
EXPAND
First new rapeseed variety introduced in Canada
EXPAND
Production peaks then plummets
EXPAND
B. rapa is registered
EXPAND
First Prairie crushing facility opens
EXPAND
Field production begins
EXPAND
Interest grows after WWII creates urgent demand for oil
EXPAND
Polish immigrants grow rapeseed in Canada for the first time