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CANOLA TIMELINE
Polish immigrants grow rapeseed in Canada for the first time
After emigrating from Poland, the Solvoniuk family starts growing B. rapa rapeseed in the garden of their Shellbrook, Saskatchewan home. Because the seed has been brought from their homeland, B. rapa comes to be known as Polish rapeseed.
Fred & Olga Solvoniuk
In the late 1920s, Fred and Olga Solvoniuk emigrated from Poland to Shellbrook, Saskatchewan. They had with them a memento from their homeland – a small amount of rapeseed from the Brassica rapa species.
Some say the seed was carried over from Poland in a handkerchief…or perhaps in the seams of Fred’s clothes. Others say it was given to them by another Polish immigrant after the Solvoniuks arrived.
Whatever the source, the seed intrigued the farm family’s new neighbours. The Solvoniuks started planting it in their garden – at first growing just enough for their own use. Soon they were sharing tobacco cans of seed with other farmers in the area.
Because the seed originated in Poland, the plant came to be known as Polish rapeseed – a name still used for B. rapa varieties today.
First identification of low-erucic trait and transfer to B. napus
Baldur Stefansson and Keith Downey have been searching the world’s rapeseed germplasm for a low-erucic seed.
Now Stefansson finds it: a forage rapeseed from Germany that contains only about 10% erucic acid. He shares the seed with Keith Downey, who is the first to successfully transfer the characteristic to a B. napus variety. This line will become the low-erucic variety ORO released in 1968.
Dr. Downey then sets out to develop a B. rapa variety with the same low-erucic characteristic. He finds one Polish seed with zero erucic acid. From it, he grows one sickly specimen that yields five invaluable seeds. They become the foundation for the B. rapa breeding program, which produces the low-erucic variety Span released in 1971.
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.
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New frontiers for canola
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Canola AgriScience Cluster
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Progress on international trade agreements
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Yields reach a record high
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A united vision for innovation
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New target: 52 by 2025
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Production reaches 18 MMT
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Continued improvements in oil profile
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Canola/Flax Science Cluster
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Industry and government embark on market access partnership
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Renewed commitment to research and innovation
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Processing capacity burgeons
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Qualified health claim
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Canola health research intensifies
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First high-oleic, high stability canola introduced
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Biodiesel opportunities emerge
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Industry begins setting targets for growth
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First B. juncea varieties introduced
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First GM canola varieties registered
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First Canadian variety with high blackleg resistance
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Commercial food companies embrace canola oil
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Canola options traded
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First Canola Production Centres open on the Prairies
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First hybrid canola variety registered & first HEAR variety released
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First high-stability canola registered
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Growing recognition as a healthier culinary oil
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Canola trademark amended
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GRAS opens door to U.S. market / CCC launches Grow with Canola
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First herbicide tolerant canola registered
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The Canola Council of Canada arrives
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First major booklet on oil quality published
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CANOLA officially named
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First double-low B. rapa variety registered
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First double-low variety registered
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Double-low trials begin
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Low glucosinolate seed identified
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New testing method accelerates research
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Low-erucic rapeseed reigns
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Health Canada calls for switch to low-erucic varieties
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Rapeseed Association of Canada established
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Rapeseed acreage exceeds one million acres
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Futures market for rapeseed established
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First identification of low-erucic trait and transfer to B. napus
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New discoveries modernize plant breeding
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Downey and Stefansson move into oilseed research
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First new rapeseed variety introduced in Canada
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Production peaks then plummets
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B. rapa is registered
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First Prairie crushing facility opens
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Field production begins