The Cambridge, Mass.-based firm has signed an agreement for the space at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique’s (INRS) biotech park in the Montreal suburb. Moderna plans to begin construction this year, with the facility operational by the end of 2024. (La Presse)

Talking point: Moderna cited the ecosystem of biotech research at the INRS campus as a draw. Policymakers competed to land the site of the vaccine maker’s first Canadian plant, with federal party leaders in last year’s French election debate repeatedly being asked, “Quebec ou Ontario?” But despite announcing a deal for the facility in August 2021, negotiations between the federal government and the firm over an agreement have dragged on. The new plant is “anchored in pandemic preparedness,” Modern Canada general manager Patricia Gauthier told The Logic in a March interview. Australia moved quicker to clinch its own deal for a facility, concluding an agreement that same month.