Canada and Nova Scotia Invest in infrastructure at Nova Scotia Community College

$19.7-million investment will create jobs, expand research and foster innovation


DARTMOUTH, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 1, 2016) - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

The Government of Canada values the role of post-secondary institutions as they help equip young Canadians with the education and training they need for future careers that will help them join a strong, healthy middle class. The $19.7-million investment announced today at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) Waterfront Campus in Dartmouth will do just that by fostering opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship that will help create the well-paying middle-class jobs of today and tomorrow.

The funding was announced by the Honourable Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Minister Brison was joined by the Honourable Stephen McNeil, Premier of Nova Scotia, and Darren Fisher, Member of Parliament for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour.

The Government of Canada's Innovation Agenda aims to make this country a global centre for innovation-one that creates jobs, drives growth across all industries and improves the lives of all Canadians. This investment exemplifies that vision in action and will help create the well-paying middle-class jobs of tomorrow.

With this funding, campus facilities and the wharves on the waterfront will be refurbished to create an ocean innovation centre. At the newly established Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE), global leaders in ocean science and research will work together with start-ups, R&D-intensive companies, industry and Nova Scotia post-secondary institutions to create a cluster of marine innovation and commercialization. Of the $19.7 million in funding for this project, $7.17 million will come from the Government of Canada and $12.55 million from the Province of Nova Scotia for capital costs.

In total, universities and colleges throughout Nova Scotia will receive more than $130 million from the Government of Canada, the provincial government, the institutions themselves and private donors. Federal funding will be allocated through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, which will enhance and modernize research facilities on Canadian campuses and improve the environmental sustainability of these facilities.

As a result of these investments, students, professors and researchers will work in state-of-the-art facilities that advance the country's best research. They will collaborate in specially designed spaces that support lifelong learning and skills training. They will work in close proximity with partners to turn discoveries into products or services. In the process, they will train for-and create-the high-value, middle-class jobs of the future. And their discoveries will plant the seeds for the next generation of innovators.

That is how the Strategic Investment Fund will jump-start a virtuous circle of innovation, creating the right conditions for long-term growth that will yield benefits for generations to come.

On July 4, 2016, the Government of Canada and the governments of the four Atlantic provinces launched the Atlantic Growth Strategy, which involves targeted actions to stimulate Atlantic Canada's economy, including supporting key infrastructure projects that support long-term growth and position the region to capitalize on emerging opportunities. Today's announcement builds on this commitment.

Quotes

"This once-in-a-generation investment by the Government of Canada is a historic down payment on the government's vision to position Canada as a global centre for innovation. That means making Canada a world leader in turning ideas into solutions, science into technologies, skills into middle-class jobs and start-up companies into global successes. Investments like this also support our Atlantic Growth Strategy, designed to stimulate the region's economy and address its challenges while building on Atlantic Canada's competitive advantages, such as its strong export potential, growing innovation ecosystem and skilled workforce."

- The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

"Investments like these in Atlantic Canada will support our world-class researchers and position Canada as a global leader in research excellence and innovation. Through the Strategic Investment Fund, we are providing Canada's students with the education and training they need to join a strong, healthy middle class."

- The Honourable Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board

"COVE will help Nova Scotia make the most of its competitive advantages in the ocean sector. It will be a place where leaders in ocean science and research can work with NSCC, Dalhousie University, industry and others in a collaborative space where start-ups can be mentored and new technologies will be developed and sold around the world."

- The Honourable Stephen McNeil, Premier of Nova Scotia

"Investments like the ones being made under the Government of Canada's Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund and by the Province of Nova Scotia support the construction or renovation of the research infrastructure our schools need to train young people for the high-value jobs of the future."
- Darren Fisher, Member of Parliament for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour

"NSCC is pleased to serve as the lead post-secondary education institution in developing the COVE project. Working with our project partners, we are looking to build an environment to host high-quality marine infrastructure and a space where ocean enterprises can collaborate to get their ideas off the ground and grow into a thriving operation. It fits so well with the teaching, applied research and industry training work we do in oceans technology and advanced manufacturing at the College, so we're very excited to see this tremendous investment today, which will get the project in full gear."

- Don Bureaux, President, Nova Scotia Community College

Quick facts

  • The Government of Canada is providing $60.3 million for research infrastructure at institutions throughout Nova Scotia, $7.17 million of which will go toward the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship.
  • The Government of Canada's Innovation Agenda is designed to ensure Canada is globally competitive in promoting research, translating ideas into new products and services, accelerating business growth and propelling entrepreneurs from the start-up phase to international success.
  • The targeted, short-term investments under the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund will promote economic activity across Canada and help Canada's universities and colleges develop highly skilled workers, act as engines of discovery, and collaborate on innovations that help Canadian companies compete and grow internationally.
  • The Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund supports the Government of Canada's climate change objectives by encouraging sustainable and green infrastructure projects.
  • On July 4, 2016, the Government of Canada and the governments of the four Atlantic provinces unveiled the Atlantic Growth Strategy, a homegrown, prosperity-focused and evidence-based strategy to stimulate the region's economy and address both long-standing and emerging regional challenges.
  • The Atlantic Growth Strategy is aimed at stimulating economic growth in the region by focusing joint federal-provincial efforts and resources on the following five areas of action: skilled workforce and immigration, innovation, clean growth and climate change, trade and investment, and infrastructure.
  • As part of the Atlantic Growth Strategy, both levels of government will work together on key infrastructure projects.

Associated links

Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund website

Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund backgrounder

Innovation Agenda backgrounder

Atlantic Growth Strategy

Follow Minister Bains on Twitter: @MinisterISED

Follow the Atlantic Growth Strategy on Twitter: #AtlanticGrowth

Contact Information:

Philip Proulx
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science
and Economic Development
343-291-2500

Media Relations
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
343-291-1777
ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca