Sucro Can opens sugar refinery at Port of Hamilton

Sucro Can Canada and HOPA Ports have officially opened a new $135-million sugar refinery at Pier 15 in the Port of Hamilton, a project aimed at strengthening Canada’s agri-food and food processing supply chain.

Construction on the refinery began in April 2024 and was completed in April 2026. The facility is expected to eventually become Canada’s largest sugar refinery, with planned refining capacity of up to one million metric tonnes annually.

The refinery currently employs about 65 workers, with staffing expected to increase as operations expand.

“The facility is supported by HOPA’s investments in multimodal port infrastructure and a financing partnership that enabled the project to advance on an accelerated timeline,” said Ian Hamilton, president and CEO of HOPA Ports. “This is a clear example of how public private partnerships in trade-enabling infrastructure can unlock significant private sector capital.”

Sucro Can first established operations at the Port of Hamilton in 2014 at Pier 10 before finalizing an agreement for the new refinery at Pier 15 in 2023.

“For our team, completing this refinery is a proud milestone,” said Jonathan Taylor, founder and CEO of Sucro Can Canada. “We built this facility to serve customers reliably over the long term.”

The company said the refinery will gradually increase production volumes over the coming years as additional systems come online.