Guelf, Ont.-based GoodLeaf Farms, which began life as Halifax-based TruLeaf, has raised $52 million in equity financing to expand its vertical farming operations in Western and Central Canada and establish a new R&D centre in Ontario.

The company, which bills itself as Canada’s only national vertical farming operator, said the money will be used to increase production at its farms in Alberta and Quebec and to advance new growing technologies at its Agricultural Centre of Excellence in Guelph.

GoodLeaf CEO Andy O’Brien said demand for the company’s baby greens, microgreens and blends climbed sharply in the past year.

“We entered 2025 with incredible momentum, and by April, demand for our products nearly doubled as Canadians from coast to coast embraced Canadian-grown greens,” O’Brien said in a statement. He added that the new funding will allow the company to double the capacity of its two largest farms in 2026.

TruLeaf was founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Gregg Curwin, who began exiting the company several years ago as frozen food giant McCain Foods became its largest shareholder. Curwin is now the Co-Founder and CEO of Halifax-based Sperri, which makes plant-based meal replacements and raised more than $4 million last year.

GoodLeaf’s latest round included both new and existing investors, among them Farm Credit Canada (FCC), Power Sustainable Lios and McCain Foods.

Adam Smalley, Managing Director of FCC Capital, said the investment aligns with FCC’s mandate to support local food production and strengthen Canada’s food economy. Power Sustainable Lios Managing Partner Jonathan Belair said the ability to raise funds in the current market reflects investor confidence in vertical farming as part of the solution to food security and sustainability challenges.

Part of the capital will fund a new research and development centre in Ontario focused on improving the efficiency and sustainability of GoodLeaf’s growing practices across its three vertical farms.

McCain Foods, an early backer of GoodLeaf, is maintaining its support. Charlie Angelakos, McCain’s Vice President of Global External Affairs and Sustainability, said the company sees GoodLeaf as a Canadian innovator helping to transform agriculture and advance sustainable food production.