Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday that a major new investment from Mississauga-based Lee Li Holdings Inc. will create 275 new jobs and significantly expand the city’s footprint in the agri-food manufacturing sector.
Ford, joined by Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish and provincial officials, revealed that Lee Li Holdings is investing $533 million to upgrade and expand its current operations while building a new 85,000-square-foot bottling and packing facility on Courtneypark Drive East. The expanded plant will act as the company’s North American hub and support plastic bottle manufacturing for high-demand beverages including teas, coffees, sparkling waters and flavoured waters.
Ontario will contribute $90 million toward the project, which the province says will strengthen domestic supply chains and reinforce Ontario’s leadership in advanced manufacturing. Ford praised the investment as a boost to both workers and the provincial economy.
“Ontario has the best workers in the world, and we’re proud to support this state-of-the-art expansion that will create 275 good-paying jobs in Mississauga,” Ford said. “By lowering taxes and cutting red tape, we’re building the most competitive and resilient economy in the G7.”
The new facility will be approximately 15,000 square feet larger than Lee Li’s existing plant and will serve as home base for its subsidiaries First Choice Beverage Inc., Global Beverage and Logistics Centre Inc., and Imperial Chilled Juice Inc., all of which operate in Mississauga. The company is also developing a new white-label product line focused on beverages made with locally sourced ingredients, which the province says will generate economic opportunities across Ontario’s agri-food sector.
Mayor Parrish welcomed the investment, calling it “massive” and “great news” for Mississauga’s workforce, especially at a time when global trade instability has challenged the manufacturing sector. “This visionary upgrade within one of our key industrial zones will further strengthen our economy,” she said.
Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Vic Fedeli, noted that the expansion will help bolster domestic supply chains and ensure more Ontario-made beverages are bottled, filled and packaged locally.
Executives at First Choice Beverage say the investment positions Ontario as a global leader in non-carbonated beverages at a time when demand for healthier, low-sugar drinks is surging. John G. Spiteri, the company’s executive vice-president and CAO, said the advanced manufacturing facility will feature cutting-edge, environmentally sensitive technologies to support growth in the worldwide market for juices, iced teas, waters and sports drinks — a sector worth over US$200 billion.