The confined research field trial program provides developers with an opportunity to grow plants with novel traits for research purposes under terms and conditions of confinement, which are designed to minimize any impact they may have on the environment.
These research trials allow developers to evaluate the field performance of their plants with novel traits, to collect information to address the environmental safety criteria necessary for an application for unconfined release, or to undertake academic research.
Table 1: Summary of approved submissions and field trials in 2023
| Year |
Number of submissions |
Number of field trials |
| 2023 |
118 |
342 |
Table 2: Number of field trials planted in each province, categorized by crop species in 2022
| Crop |
Nfld |
PEI |
NS |
NB |
QC |
ON |
MB |
SK |
AB |
BC |
| Barley |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Camelina |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
38 |
24 |
0 |
0 |
| Canola |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
6 |
94 |
0 |
1 |
| Corn |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
51 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Poplar |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Poppy |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Potato |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Soybean |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Sugar Beet |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| Wheat |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Total |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
82 |
58 |
118 |
3 |
1 |
Table 3: Summary of 2023 field trial breeding objectives for planted field trials
| Crop |
Barley |
Camelina |
Canola |
Corn |
Poplar |
Poppy |
Potato |
Soybean |
Sugar Beet |
Wheat |
| Latin name |
Hordeum vulgare |
Camelina sativa |
Brassica napus |
Zea mays |
Populus spp |
Papaver somniferum |
Solanum tuberosum |
Glycine max |
Beta vulgaris |
Triticum aestivum |
| Total Trials |
10 |
62 |
121 |
51 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
2 |
4 |
| Herbicide tolerance Table Note 1 |
0 |
33 |
88 |
46 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
| Yield increase |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
| Modified oil composition |
0 |
26 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Stress tolerance |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
| Fungal resistance |
0 |
0 |
25 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| Insect resistance |
0 |
0 |
30 |
51 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| Pharmaceutical |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Male sterility |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Modified protein or amino acid content |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Modified carbohydrate content |
0 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Modified secondary metabolites |
0 |
0 |
18 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Altered maturity or growth |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Selectable and/or screenable marker (incl. antibiotic resistance) |
10 |
59 |
33 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
4 |
| Genetic research |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Industrial product |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Nutrient Use Efficiency |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
8 |
23 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Table 4: Number of trial sites planted in 2023 per province.
| - |
Nfld |
PEI |
NS |
NB |
QC |
ON |
MB |
SK |
AB |
BC |
Total |
| Number of trial sites |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
8 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
34 |
