The growth of Canadian hog and pork production over the last 15 years is one of the major achievements and outstanding phenomenon of Canadian agriculture and food. Success of the industry is based on quality, efficiency, productivity and entrepreneurship. Since 1995, the Canadian sow herd has grown by over 40%, Canadian hog slaughter increased by 45%, and US slaughter increased by just 7%. While Canada is very small in terms of production, we are the largest single exporting nation in the world. The average size of hog operations is increasing while the number of operations is decreasing. The pork packing industry is at a lower capacity, which gives it more room to change. Pork packing has increased by 45% over the past 10 years. The five largest plants in Canada have an average weekly capacity of 42,000 head per week (8400 per day). Maple Leaf and Olymel are the leaders in this industry. Exports are the source of all of Canada’s growth. This export increase can be attributed to specialized US hog production, increased demand for feeder pigs in the US, general expansion of hog production in Canada, cost-competitive production in Canada, proximity to major hog-finishing areas of the US, and favourable exchange rates.