Premier Doug Ford was in Markdale on Friday to announce his government’s support for a $200-million expansion plan by Chapman’s Ice Cream.
The province is providing a loan to Chapman’s for $27 million through the Invest Ontario Fund, which is interest-free for three years.
If the company is able to add and maintain 200 additional employees, then just over $4 million of that loan is forgivable.
Company CEO Ashley Chapman said, “Our expansion comes at a critical time for all Canadians, with the Trump administration using tariffs as a weapon of intimidation, not to mention threats to our very sovereignty, we need to prioritize Canadians. We are not powerless in the face of these threats, from Canadians choosing anything but American products in grocery stores, to refusing to travel to the USA, we have a voice and we need to use that voice. While many companies are hesitating investing in Canada, we are using our voice to lead the way, with a little help from [Premier] Doug Ford and his team.”
Premier Doug Ford does an impromptu promotion of Chapman’s Ice Cream products during an on September 19, 2025 during an investment announcement from the Ontario Government.
The provincial government is celebrating that the expansion, that they say will strengthen Ontario’s food manufacturing sector.
While in Markdale on Friday afternoon, Premier Doug Ford said, “Our government has a plan to protect Ontario’s workers, families, and businesses, by making our province more competitive, more resilient, and more self-reliant because we have the best workers anywhere in the world.”
As the largest employer in Markdale, Chapman’s has more than 200 products made using exclusively Canadian milk and cream.
“Unlike our previous building projects, we’re not doing it alone. I want to express my deepest gratitude to Minister Fedeli, and the invest Ontario team for the contribution to Chapman’s Ice Cream,” said Chapman. “This additional funding is allowing us to build bigger and better, and continue to do what we do best. While we are all feeling the effects of uncertainty in the marketplace, Chapman’s plan – as always – is to stay true to our promise to Canadian consumers, to make high-quality products at a reasonable price. This project allows Chapman’s to fortify our position to continue doing just that.”
Premier Doug Ford enjoys a Chapman’s Yukon treat while answering media questions on September 19, 2025 during an investment announcement from the Ontario Government.
Due to a rough winter, construction was delayed partly just because of snow removal, Chapman said. During last winter, there were times where crews were spending three days out of the week to clear snow to allow building crews to complete construction work for the next two days.
The construction delays led to Chapman’s not being able to take on as many contracts as they had initially hoped, but Chapman said that the new 175,000 square-foot facility will start operations in May or June 2026, and will be busy from the time it comes online.
As for the new facility’s features, the company is investing in some robotics and automation.
Chapman explained that this would not equate to employees losing their jobs, but rather they will be diverted to other duties.
The upgraded facility will enable Chapman’s to increase production capacity, develop new products, and meet growing domestic demand while also expanding into international markets.
“We’re also starting to look a little farther afield. We’re thinking of course our relationship as a country seems to be getting better with the UK and the European Union. We would like to start thinking about maybe producing our products for shipments overseas,” Chapman said. “we will always commit to our Canadian dairy farmers of using as much dairy as possible. We are going to just increase our dairy usage year after year – I won’t say exponentially, but it’ll be significant in 2026, and even more significant in 2027.”
With the proposed addition of 200 employees that would be hired through this expansion, Chapman’s Ice Cream would then have a workforce of just over 1,000 people.
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