Prior to the passing of the Company's long serving Chairman, G. Wallace F. McCain on 13 May 2011, Mr. Crawford was Vice Chairman and Lead Director. The appointment of Mr Crawford to the chairmanship ensures continuity of leadership at the Board.

Mr Crawford, who will be retiring from the Board by the Company's next annual meeting in April 2012, will serve as Chairman until the annual meeting or such earlier time as determined by the Board. The Board has appointed a committee composed of four independent directors with Dr Chaviva M. Hosek as Chair to review and make recommendations to the full Board on the position of Chairman of the Board on an ongoing basis.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a leading food processing company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The Company employs approximately 21,000 people at its operations across Canada and in the United States, the United Kingdom and Asia. The Company had sales of C$5.0 billion in 2010.