Advanced manufacturing supercluster wins federal funding

February 15, 2018 | By MRO Magazine

The Innovation Superclusters Initiative is a centrepiece of the Government of Canada's Innovation and Skills Plan.

The Innovation Superclusters Initiative is a centrepiece of the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan.

Ottawa – When small, medium-sized and large companies, academic institutions and not-for-profit organizations come together to generate bold ideas, Canadians benefit from more well-paying jobs, groundbreaking research and a world-leading innovation economy.

That’s why the Government of Canada is investing up to $950 million under the Innovation Superclusters Initiative.

The investment, which will be matched dollar for dollar by the private sector, is expected to create more than 50,000 middle-class jobs and grow Canada’s economy by $50 billion over the next 10 years.In 2017, the Government of Canada challenged Canadian businesses of all sizes to collaborate with other innovation actors, including post-secondary and research institutions, to propose bold and ambitious strategies that would transform regional economies and develop job-creating superclusters of innovation, like Silicon Valley.Today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced Canada’s five superclusters:

The Ocean Supercluster (based in Atlantic Canada) will use innovation to improve competitiveness in Canada’s ocean-based industries, including fisheries, oil and gas, and clean energy;
The SCALE.AI Supercluster (based in Quebec) will make Canada a world leading exporter by building intelligent supply chains through artificial intelligence and robotics;
The Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster (based in Ontario) will connect Canada’s technology strengths to our manufacturing industry to make us a world manufacturing leader in the economy of tomorrow;
The Protein Industries Supercluster (based in the Prairies) will make Canada a leading source for plant proteins and help feed the world;
The Digital Technology Supercluster (based in British Columbia) will use big data and digital technologies to unlock new potential in important sectors like healthcare, forestry, and manufacturing.

The Innovation Superclusters Initiative is a centrepiece of the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan, a multi-year strategy to prepare Canada for the innovative jobs of today and tomorrow.

Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

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