Canada Goose Holdings Inc., based in Toronto, announced its plans to ramp up domestic production of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers across Canada. Over the next two weeks, the company will begin to reopen all of its eight Canadian facilities and, at full capacity as many as 900 employees will be working to support the efforts.

With new contracts in place, Canada Goose will produce at least 60,000 gowns per week, with plans to deliver up to 1.5 million, at cost. Any unintentional profits, potentially derived from efficiencies, will be donated to national COVID-19 relief funds.

This announcement builds on its commitment to manufacture and donate 14,000 units of gowns and scrubs at no charge. Produced in two of its Toronto and Winnipeg facilities, product shipments to hospitals and healthcare facilities across Canada, began this week.

“These unprecedented times call for decisive, collective action and now is the time for Canada to invest in Made-in- Canada solutions,” said Dani Reiss, president and CEO, Canada Goose. “With one of the largest Canadian apparel manufacturing infrastructures in the country, we are uniquely positioned to re-tool our facilities and refocus our teams to produce a variety of personal protective equipment – and we are prepared to leverage all of our resources to do what’s right for our country.”

Updates to the production of PPE at Canada Goose facilities include:

Manufacturing Facilities
Canada Goose will leverage its eight manufacturing facilities across Canada to produce L2 gowns, including:

  • At full capacity, as many as 900 Canada Goose employees across Canada will be working to produce PPE equipment; approximately 150 employees are currently producing equipment in Toronto and Winnipeg
  • All facilities will follow recommended social distancing protocols and safety regulations to ensure a safe work environment for employees

Personal Protective Equipment Production

  • Under contract with the federal government, the company will produce 60,000 L2 gowns per week, to a total of 1.5 million total units.
  • In Manitoba, the company will produce 100,000 reusable gowns for Shared Health

The company continues to work closely with federal, provincial and local health authorities to provide as much gear as possible to those in need.

Photo courtesy The Canadian Press