research | Sep 28, 2026
In 2020, Cargill's beef processing plant in High River, Alberta, was the site of the largest industrial COVID-19 outbreak in North America. More than 950 workers — nearly half the plant's workforce — tested positive. Two workers and four close contacts died, and dozens were hospitalized. Six years on, this report is the first independent investigation into how the outbreak was allowed to grow to the scale it did — and why it should never have.