Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) 

Federal minister highlights $30 million investment in Saskatchewan’s VIDO research institute
Story by Bryn Levy • Star Phoenix

Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada François-Philippe Champagne (right) was among the visitors who toured the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization on Monday, April 22, 2024. VIDO received $30 million in the recent federal budget to complete critical infrastructure that establishes the organization as Canada's Centre for Pandemic Research. 

(David Stobbe/supplied)

Federal Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François Phillippe Champagne quipped that his portfolio often sees him serve as Canada’s “bragger-in-chief” as he talks up the country’s success stories in meetings with political and business leaders from around the world.

Anyone observing Champagne on a tour of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) facility at the University of Saskatchewan’s campus in Saskatoon might also add “recruiter-in-chief” to his job description.

VIDO pulls in talent from around the globe, and Champagne made a point of asking where students and researchers were from, learning a bit about their work, and then encouraging them to remain in Canada when they finish their programs.

Champagne was in Saskatoon as part of a tour promoting initiatives from the most recent federal budget, which includes $30 million to help VIDO finish work on a new animal research building and complete upgrades to bring lab space up to what’s known as containment Level 4 – the highest possible safety rating required for labs working with potentially dangerous pathogens.

Champagne was scheduled to go from VIDO to a Saskatoon ice cream shop, where he promoted another budget initiative aimed at small businesses.


Fable Ice Cream Owner Jordan Ethridge, left, operates a coffee machine as Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada François-Philippe Champagne, right, looks on at Fable Ice Cream in Saskatoon on Monday, April 22, 2024.© Heywood Yu

Critics, including at least two former Liberal finance ministers, have lined up against the spending proposed in the federal budget, which calls for deficits of nearly $40 billion for the next two years, before they gradually taper to $20 billion for the 2028-29 budget year.

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Champagne on Monday said the budget’s funding for VIDO is an example of making “investments” that help attract highly-skilled workers and generate innovation needed to help spur productivity gains.

“We need to invest in our future. A confident nation invests,” he said, adding that VIDO is a good example of how billions in the budget to support scientific research and development can generate returns for future generations.

“The science of today is the economy of tomorrow,” Champagne added, noting he looks forward to showing off VIDO’s cutting-edge facilities to the world.

VIDO’s national and international profile has greatly expanded in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the municipal, provincial and federal governments all contributing to turn the facility into Canada’s pandemic research and vaccine development hub.

Once the new animal facility is complete, VIDO will be one of what CEO and director Volker Gerdts described as “a handful” of facilities on the planet of its size offering a full suite of animal research, vaccine development and production all in one place.

Gerdts noted during a presentation that the world benefited from some 20 years of previous research done on coronaviruses when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, allowing for vaccines to be developed fairly quickly.

Future pandemics could be caused by less well-known pathogens, Gerdts said, and a facility like VIDO effectively provides insurance that Canada will be able to respond to the next pandemic.

In the meantime, VIDO will continue leveraging its roots in developing vaccines for use in agriculture. Gerdts noted that understanding and controlling animal diseases is vital for protecting human health and the food supply.

The provincial Saskatchewan Party government has for years been publicly at odds with the federal Liberals. That acrimony took a backseat at Monday’s event, when provincial Minister of Trade and Export Development Jeremy Harrison noted Champagne has been “a great friend” of Saskatchewan within the federal government on files including co-operation on VIDO, as well as federal support for projects undertaken by the Saskatchewan Research Council on critical mineral processing and the development of small modular nuclear reactors.

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