Marc Bieler heads Canneberges Bieler, the biggest cranberry producer not only in Quebec, but in all of Canada. It has 1,500 acres, or 600 hectares under cultivation, divided among six farms, including three in the Centre-du-Québec region and two in Lac-Saint-Jean. Year in, year out, Canneberges Bieler harvests more than 20,000 tonnes of fruit, which it sells to the Ocean Spray co-operative for processing. Canneberges Bieler generates $25 million in sales annually and has a permanent staff of 40, with another 30 or so seasonal workers employed every summer.
Bieler (DipAgr’58, BA’64) began growing cranberries in 1984. At the time, he was already operating orchards.
“I’ve always been a lover of the earth,” he said in an interview. His close connection to the land dates from his childhood, and summers spent in Switzerland with his maternal relatives, the de Candolle family, renowned botanists.
After finishing his studies, he remained close to the world of agriculture, first becoming a grain merchant, then a civil servant in the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. A meeting with the great ecologist Pierre Dansereau around 1970 shaped his awareness of the risks associated with climate change and cemented his commitment to sustainable agriculture.
To diversify his production and protect against the vagaries of the weather, Bieler started growing cranberries. Why cranberries? Quebec is rich in peat bogs, which are good for this crop, he explained. But the potential was not well recognized, and as these lands were considered ill-suited to agriculture, they could be acquired inexpensively.
Bieler opened his first cranberry farm in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, about 20 kilometres north of Victoriaville, in the Centre-du-Québec region, an ideal area for cranberries. Making additional investments, he extended the area under cultivation and started processing and marketing his products.
“Mr. Bieler is an entrepreneur,” Monique Thomas, director of the Quebec Cranberry Growers Association, said right off the bat, when asked to sum up the man. “But he’s also someone who brings people together.” His initiatives have snowballed: today the region is the epicentre of cranberry production in Quebec. Three-quarters of Quebec’s cranberry farms are here, and they account for about 85 per cent of production.
Over the years, Bieler’s attachment to his adopted hometown has never wavered. The businessman contributed toward the construction of a recreation centre in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford that bears his name. He contributes – through his foundation – to the regional organization Partenaires 12-18 that offers support to youth, and he actively supports the activities of the Cranberry Interpretation Centre and the annual Canneberge en fête festival. In addition, in 1994, he served as the first president of the Quebec Cranberry Growers Association, which he had just co-founded to support the growth of the cranberry industry and, by extension, that of the regional economy.
When asked about his social engagement, Bieler remains modest.
“The municipality has always been a good partner to us, it has helped the business in its activities, its purchases of land, its requests for permits. It’s important to give back.”
But for Monique Thomas, who has been with the association for 15 years, downplaying his role is out of the question.
“He probably saved Saint-Louis-de-Blandford. The village was dying; he revitalized it. He’s a benefactor.”
Beyond Bieler’s direct impact, the multiplication of cranberry farms has generated considerable tax revenues.
The agricultural sector in Quebec is going through a very difficult period, but Bieler is not at all worried for the future of Canneberges Bieler or of the cranberry industry.
“Our yields are excellent, better than in British Columbia and in most of the areas under production in the United States,” he explained. There have been numerous investments in technologies, and partnerships with cutting-edge researchers at ż´Ć¬ĘÓƵ, Laval and Cornell universities.
“We are the experts in this crop,” he adds. “We are ready to take on climate challenges.”
Thomas echoed his statement: “Climate change threatens our production less than it does others. Our industry is fairly young, and everything is computerized.” For example, thanks to agricultural tensiometers, soil humidity measurements can be provided to producers in real time, allowing for optimizing of irrigation and drainage.
That said, Bieler is fully aware of the challenge climate change poses for future generations. In 2020, after the sale of his processing activities to Ocean Spray, he and his wife, Marie, pledged $15 million over 20 years to ż´Ć¬ĘÓƵ’s School of Environment, since renamed the Bieler School. Bieler sees this gift, the most generous of its kind ever received by ż´Ć¬ĘÓƵ, as “an investment in the current and future health of our planet.” The couple made an additional important investment in 2023, of $3 million, that allowed ż´Ć¬ĘÓƵ to create a new research chair on climate change and sustainability in the North.
The industry is in good shape. So is the Bieler family business. Cranberries clearly aren’t only a superfood for the human body, they are also a supercrop that will continue to bestow benefits.