Business acquisition (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 29, 2012

Business Acquisition [Line Items]

Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information [Table Text Block]

		Quarter ended		Three quarters ended
		September 29, 2012	October 1, 2011	September 29, 2012	October 1, 2011
		$	$	$	$
Pro forma revenues		284,632	269,955	843,509	817,635
Pro forma earnings attributable to SunOpta Inc.		4,836	3,609	18,235	13,635
Pro forma earnings per share
	Basic	0.07	0.06	0.28	0.21
	Diluted	0.07	0.05	0.27	0.20

WGI [Member]

Business Acquisition [Line Items]

Schedule of Business Acquisitions, by Acquisition [Table Text Block]

	Amounts
	Recognized as
	of Acquisition
	Date
	$
Cash and cash equivalents	2,454
Accounts receivable(1)	4,922
Inventories	7,404
Other current assets	111
Property, plant and equipment	4,991
Intangible assets(2)	630
Deferred income tax	290
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	(5,056)
Bank indebtedness and long-term debt	(551)
Other long-term liabilities	(227)
Total consideration	14,968

Babco [Member]

Business Acquisition [Line Items]

Schedule of Business Acquisitions, by Acquisition [Table Text Block]

	Amounts
	Recognized as
	of Acquisition
	Date
	$
Net assets acquired
Accounts receivable(1)	467
Inventories	372
Other current assets	20
Property, plant and equipment	4,909
Goodwill(2)	7,675
Intangible assets(3)	9,347
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	(692)
Deferred income taxes	(2,808)
Long-term debt(4)	(1,145)
	18,145
Consideration
Cash consideration	17,530
Contingent consideration(5)	615
	18,145